Tuesday, August 25, 2020

In What Ways Did Sport Reflect Amercian Society in the 19th Century Free Essays

string(46) was as yet a disruptive factor among players. In what ways did brandish reflect American culture? This paper will focus on taking a gander at the ethnic and class separate inside the games subculture of American culture, and how it reflects American Society in general. While inspecting any general public there is a consistently an expansive territory to cover, while taking a gander at America’s society I will be taking a gander at the contentions that it is the ‘land of the free’ a ‘new nation’ which outsiders ran to begin another life in a nation of much ‘opportunity’. I will utilize the game in the nineteenth century to look at exactly the amount America was a place that is known for new chances at life and of the free, and whether it contrasted from the mentalities in nations from around the remainder of the world. We will compose a custom article test on In What Ways Did Sport Reflect Amercian Society in the nineteenth Century or then again any comparative theme just for you Request Now When taking a gander at sport in American culture in the nineteenth century, first we should take a gander at the roots of the game and games that were played, to perceive how they were seen inside another developing society. Prior to the introduction of the American settlements, it has been contended that sport in America was a social practice generally connected with Native American functions and religion, colonization brought game and games for relaxation. The English carried with them recreational belief systems, it was the specific games and sports as well as the mentalities and practices wherein relaxation exercises were established. The Native Americans had numerous games/games like that of Europeans before colonization however they had free social settings that gave them various implications. Regularly the exercises went with richness services, entombment customs, mending practices, and endeavors to control the climate. It was accounted for in the American Anthropologist (1890) by James Mooney that Cherokees who played stickball (Also known as Lacrosse) must not take part in intercourse for a month before a game. Additionally, preceding games they would construct flames and move to the sound of drums, clatters and holy serenades. Players were set up before games with prayer’s, pipe smoking, body painting and numerous different customs planned more to improve otherworldliness instead of to guarantee them triumph. Cooperation in these games was not willful as the reasons they were played were for critical inborn concerns. Without a doubt, the English who came and colonized America additionally messed around for comparable social reasons, however these reasons were not as vital of a worry for the entire country, yet for littler regions of society. All in all, the British played for recreation, in Europe this shaped the antithesis to the need of every day work, and the perfect of playing sport for relaxation is still extremely solid today everywhere throughout the world. The English recreation ethic more so than its hard working attitude got romanticized by Virginian estate proprietors. They acted like English men of honor, followed English press, style and played English games, for example, Cricket, they did this looking for a class qualification. It was fundamentally thus that wearing showcases turned into a major distraction among the Virginian upper class; they were a portion of the not many that had the opportunity and cash to involve themselves with such errands. Because of this, recreation turned into a very class limiting custom, and the English instructed nobility tried to keep it along these lines. One such case of the class differentiations right now inside American culture is that of James Bullocke who was a tailor, he crushed Mathew Slader a ‘gentleman’ in a 1674 pony race on which each man had put down a wager of 2,000 pounds of tobacco. Be that as it may, after this triumph the district court told the men that it was â€Å"contrary to law for a worker to make a race being a game for Gentlemen†, and fined him one hundred pounds of tobacco. The court likewise restricted Slader (the honorable man) to the stocks for an hour for his misfortune to a working man. A main factor in the quest for relaxation for whites was that subjugation made it hard for them to esteem difficult work, and simple for them to acknowledge game and games. The rationale of this was basic, whenever subjugated blacks needed to work; play was verification of opportunity and raised economic wellbeing. Work was a weight of darkness, recreation was the right of whiteness. The foundation of subjugation, truth be told, constrained most by far of African Americans to â€Å"steal† time for relaxation and amusement, similarly as they took a specific sort of information when they figured out how to peruse and compose. The common war anyway excruciating it was, had a decent side to it too, this being it assisted with ending servitude. This implied opportunity, citizenship, and sacred assurances from the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth alterations, anyway this didn't mean an excessive amount to America’s dark populace. The decency that originated from the finish of subjugation was dominated by organized racial isolation and restraint that rewarded African American’s as peasants. Numerous African Americans went to game and relaxation to help adapt to the racial segregation, anyway this was not as simple as one may believe it to be. Game was utilized as a focal point that united numerous blacks, Baseball was one of the most bringing together of sports for African Americans with numerous early Black baseball crews, one of the soonest being the Pythian Baseball Club of Philadelphia, they comprised of four groups with players originating from the higher positions of Black society. The Pythian’s played other dark groups from around Philadelphia, including one of the most well known, the Excelsiors (the most seasoned dark group in the city). The Pythian’s played for the informal â€Å"Colored Championship of the United States† in 1871, they conveyed a race’s pride when they played all be it isolating themselves from the lower and white collar classes in the African American culture. This indicating in spite of the fact that it turned out to be progressively worthy for dark players to play white games, they were isolated out from the white’s and class was as yet a disruptive factor among players. You read In What Ways Did Sport Reflect Amercian Society in the nineteenth Century in class Papers So, ‘land of the free’ of ‘opportunity’ it doesn't appear as though it, when we see the partition between the players of this game. Dark competitors were associated with pretty much every game before the finish of the nineteenth century, be that as it may, boxing was one they had a bigger portrayal and turned out to be generally conspicuous in. Dark competitors were progressively adequate in boxing as it was accepted that it was increasingly reasonable to the dark athlete’s capacities and there was likewise a negative disgrace joined to the game. While in baseball dark players were developing themselves a different hued alliance, boxing was an overwhelmingly white composed game and dark fighters endured the anger of a significant part of the white populace just as some from the dark populace as well. A fruitful and questionable figure in boxing was Jack Johnson, the principal American dark heavyweight boxing champion, from a white perspective he indicated a considerable lot of the individual characteristics detested of blacks, Johnson was resistant, rude and hopeless. Likewise, he wedded three white ladies and he was effective catching the imagery of Anglo-Saxon white predominance, the heavyweight boxing crown. Johnson was not simply detested by the whites for his conduct, numerous operating at a profit network felt that his activities impeded the advancement of the race. He was a legend to many, yet in addition was viewed as a humiliation as he would not act docile. The manner in which Johnson carried on with his life could be contended that he was a genuine pioneer of the ‘American dream’, an administrator in the ‘land of the free’ that has accepted the open door given to him and made it work. His boxing profession was a journey for opportunity, he framed his own interesting style of battling and his prosperity picked up him a significant number of the material things numerous blacks pined for yet they could never accomplish. Looking at boxing, one could contend that this game demonstrated a more genuine translation of American Society than any of the others, America should be a ‘land of opportunity’ where individuals could emigrate, to accomplish things that they would not have the option to do in their country. In any case, was this game reflecting American culture or one of not very many things that really f ell in accordance with the conviction of the ‘American dream’? This being the account of small time, who accomplished his own fantasy, at the expense of being despised by many, without a doubt a ‘land of the free’ would energize his prosperity. Taking everything into account, it is difficult to completely comprehend American culture from how it influenced sport, regardless of whether it be prejudice, sexual orientation or class qualifications. One thing that is clear to any student of history seeing this subject, it is that these issues, anyway much individuals trust them to never again be an issue in the public eye, they despite everything are. Class is not, at this point a very remarkable issue inside game any longer, except if it is preventing you from joining the renowned tennis of golf club, however nowadays cash will get you whatever class status you need. Notwithstanding, regardless of whether it is sex contentions, for example, prize assets at rivalries, for example, Wimbledon, or the prejudice gave by fans to players of every single distinctive game the world over, these issues will never leave. So is it wrong to pass judgment on America for its brandishing/sociological wrongdoings of the past? When taking a gander at American culture now it is as yet separated between sports which are viewed as high contrast, white games, for example, ice hockey played in the northern states, and NASCAR in the southern states, dark players are rare while Basketball is prevalently loaded up with dark players. Actually game will consistently isolate, the latest gap in sport has come

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Neurodegenerative Diseases Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Neurodegenerative Diseases A bit of all around oiled hardware comprises of an unpredictable and complex framework: there are efficient procedures, components inside the gadget work productively, and numerous procedures work all the while to in this way perform different capacities. What happens when there is a glitch in the machine? When there is something incorrectly, for example, associations between mind boggling forms, which don't finish, the machine neglects to work appropriately. Now and again, there are no change or fallback components. By then, the harm can be irreversible and the hardware is not, at this point salvageable. [However, this can represent the communications and procedures inside the complex machinery.] The human cerebrum can respond similarly. Neurodegenerative ailments are indications of a glitch in the neural mechanical procedures inside the mind. Along these lines, neurotic issues of the cerebrum show how the mind controls development and conduct. It is clear in the physical just as passionate conduct. (5) It likewise delineates the communication between the focal sensory system to the fringe sensory system. There must be associations between neural action inside the cerebrum and the remainder of the focal and fringe sensory systems. One can likewise comprehend a representation of the cerebrum just like a crate made out of interconnected littler boxes. These incorporated boxes thusly exhibit the idea that, Brain=Behavior=Being. The motivation behind this exposition is to give a general outline, just as neurological diagram, of the neurodegenerative ailment, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. In doing as such, it will demonstrate how the cerebrum ends up being the focal point of conduct and makes the person's sense... ...The way that one's neural correspondence is cut off and inevitably closes down all body work control, is clear. The information that one's mind is loaded with openings because of a proteinaceous irresistible molecule is theoretical. Albeit many feel that an individual is considerably more than negligible neural associations, terminating engine orchestras, synapses, and specific porousness, Creutzfeldt-Jakob ailment reworks singular character. At last, the patients or their friends and family don't concentrate on the CJD statistical data points. Their world is that an individual gradually crumbles before their eyes, the feeling of the Self is lost. Works Cited: http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/path.htm http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/intro.htm http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk./lancet.htm Delcomyn, Fred. Establishments of Neurobiology , W.H.Freeman and Company Copyright 1997, pg.437. Neurodegenerative Diseases Essay - Biology Essays Research Papers Neurodegenerative Diseases A bit of all around oiled apparatus comprises of a many-sided and complex framework: there are efficient procedures, systems inside the gadget work productively, and numerous procedures work at the same time to hence perform different capacities. What happens when there is a glitch in the machine? When there is something incorrectly, for example, associations between mind boggling forms, which don't finish, the machine neglects to work appropriately. Now and again, there are no alteration or fallback components. By then, the harm can be irreversible and the hardware is not, at this point salvageable. [However, this can delineate the connections and procedures inside the complex machinery.] The human mind can respond similarly. Neurodegenerative maladies are indications of a glitch in the neural mechanical procedures inside the mind. Accordingly, obsessive issues of the cerebrum exhibit how the mind controls development and conduct. It is obvious in the physical just as passionate conduct. (5) It likewise outlines the association between the focal sensory system to the fringe sensory system. There must be associations between neural action inside the mind and the remainder of the focal and fringe sensory systems. One can likewise comprehend a representation of the mind similar to a case made out of interconnected littler boxes. These coordinated boxes thus show the idea that, Brain=Behavior=Being. The motivation behind this article is to give a general outline, just as neurological review, of the neurodegenerative sickness, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. In doing as such, it will demonstrate how the mind ends up being the focal point of conduct and makes the person's sense... ...The way that one's neural correspondence is cut off and in the end closes down all body work control, is obvious. The information that one's mind is loaded with gaps because of a proteinaceous irresistible molecule is theoretical. Albeit many feel that an individual is substantially more than negligible neural associations, terminating engine ensembles, synapses, and particular porousness, Creutzfeldt-Jakob sickness reworks singular character. At last, the patients or their friends and family don't concentrate on the CJD raw numbers. Their existence is that an individual gradually crumbles before their eyes, the feeling of the Self is lost. Works Cited: http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/path.htm http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/intro.htm http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk./lancet.htm Delcomyn, Fred. Establishments of Neurobiology , W.H.Freeman and Company Copyright 1997, pg.437.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Business Research Methods Choose Any Topic From Human Resource

Business Research Methods Choose Any Topic From Human Resource Business Research Methods: Choose Any Topic From Human Resource Management (HRM) Or Recruitment And â€" Essay Example > ALLWRITING. NET ORDER: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODSTitle: The effect of electronic recruitment and selection on the productivity of human Resource management (HRM) departments of organizations. IntroductionThe internet has permeated every facet of business life including that of human resource acquisition, development and management. Increasingly, the internet and related electronic technologies are being used to advertise for positions, assessment of applicants, selection and recruitment of human resources. These technologies include emails, websites, resume banks, employment webpages, electronic scanning technology, applicant tracking system and internal databases of job seekers. According to Bartram (2000) the internet has already had a dramatic impact on the way in which recruitment and selection are carried out in North America and the impact is increasingly being felt in terms of changes in practice in Europe and Asia-Pacific. He further pointed out that this medium has enabled the widespread adoption of computer-based assessment and also predicted that it would replace paper as the default medium before very long. These assertions were made over five years ago. In between that time and now the internet population has witnessed a massive growth and the activities undertaken on it has also widened and become more diversified. Many workplaces in the world have also been connected to the internet. Given the ubiquitous role the internet now plays in the conduct of business activities, it would not be over-exaggeration to say that its impact is being felt worldwide. Presently, all aspects of human resource work in the area of recruitment and selection such as developing the requirements of a position, posting of positions, advertising of position, screening of resumes, interviewing, making the offer and even new employee orientation can be done from a computer and the internet. Galanaki (2002) has catalogued some of the benefits of online recruitment and sel ection as being more cost effective, worldwide coverage and therefore a better pool of human resources to select from. The rest of the benefits are reduced recruitment cycle time, higher response rate, a better quality of response, less effort in getting the desired results and lower administrative cost. A study carried out by Human Resource Management International Digest (2005)revealed that the use of electronic recruitment software known as Active Recruiter reduced the recruitment process from 62 to 42 days. Also, savings amounting to 54 percent of the total recruitment costs was realized. Despite these enormous benefits, the online medium itself also poses special difficulties and challenges to the human resource function. These include issues pertaining to confidentiality, authentication, equality of access to information, impersonation, and inherent abuse of the testing process and the control of assessment conditions. Kerrin and Ketley (2003) identified major challenges for implementing e-recruitment as (a) the cultural approach of the organization towards e-recruitment (b) the lack of knowledge of e-recruitment with the human resource (HR) community, (c) internet usage by the target prospective applicants and (d) commitment of senior management to e- recruitment. Interestingly, while these benefits and challenges are commonly acknowledged, few research work has been carried out to quantitatively measure their effects on the human resource function and productivity. Consequently, there is paucity of information in this area of human resource management to guide managerial decision making. This study is therefore being undertaken to help bridge this information gap. Specifically, it shall seek to measure quantitatively the effect electronic recruitment is having on the productivity of human resource management.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Communication and Family Issues - 6081 Words

Communication in marriage Research: Communication In Families Communication is a vital part of everyday life. Without communication we would not be allowed to express feelings, needs or even wants. Communication is more complicated than just speaking to one another. Some families suffer from the lack of communication and it is most important to keep a good communication flow through families. Effective communication is an important characteristic of strong, healthy families. Family communication is the way verbal and non-verbal information is exchanged between family members (Epstein et al.,1993). Communication involves the ability to pay attention to what others are thinking and feeling. In other words, an important part of†¦show more content†¦When that happened to Betsy, she changed, too. Now Carl finds himself wondering what happened to the self-assured, strong woman he first fell in love with. He misses her. Carl doesnt realize it, but Betsy has always had an unusual need for attention and communication. Thats because she had a very stoic father whom she was never able to please. Its good to examine whether your need to talk is reasonable or the result of a troubled upbringing. Most couples need help to discuss their needs in a productive way. Having different attitudes toward talking doesnt mean there is something wrong with either spouse, that anyone was deceived, or that the marriage is hopeless. When Your Spouse Wont Talk Relating to each other is not a technique were born with. Its like a muscle that needs to be developed over time. by Romie Hurley Next Article in Series: †¢ Previous Article †¢ Next Article 1. Overview 2. When Your Spouse Wont Talk 3. When Your Spouse Wont Leave You Alone 4. Making Time to Talk 5. Talking About Sensitive Issues 6. Starting a Conversation 7. Communicating Without Talking 8. On Listening and Other Rare, Exotic Habits 9. Next Steps / Related Information Relating to each other is not a technique were born with. Its like a muscle that needs to be developed over time—and massaged when it hurts. If you have a spouse who doesnt want to talk as muchShow MoreRelatedCommunication Theory Paper969 Words   |  4 Pageshead: COMMUNICATION THEORY PAPER 2 Communication Theory Paper Name University of Phoenix Communication Theory Paper 2 Communication is an important part and concern in many organizations. With many organizations having such a diverse workforce communicating has an impact on how well employees, patient and family members interact together. Many communication issues arise due to the fact that there are many employees from different cultures and different genders. These issues haveRead MoreThe Family Of A Family1319 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction A family is a group of two or more people that are related by blood, marriage (registered), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live together in the same household. This includes newly-weds without children, gay partners, couples with dependants, single mums or dads with children, siblings living together, and many other variations (What is a family, 2013). A family consists of many variables that work together to form a system. The main functions of a family are to ensure thatRead MoreThe Family Of A Family1304 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction A family is a group of two or more people that are related by blood, marriage (registered), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live together in the same household. 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I will be making evaluative and reformist claims, as I will be evaluating the value of the communications available about resources, as well as providing information about how the lack of communication of available resources has had not only a neg ative impact on my family, but on other families who have been affected by drugRead MoreMy Interview With Cultural Competence Essay1185 Words   |  5 Pageshas no economic factors or concerns and is a democrat. Communication Next topic interviewed with Diego was communication. Communication is considered the language spoke, voice, accent, volume, and tone to one another. Along with all nonverbal aspects of communication (Purnell, 2002). Language barriers may prevent patients from understanding medical treatment and advice received from providers (Hoeffling Monroy, 2015). 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The application of cybernetics to communication, and the framework of general systems theory led his group to essentially begin family therapy. Communication was (and is) an easily detected gauge of interpersonal relationshi ps; communication is relayed in all interpersonal transactions. It is, however, not always verbal. FurthermoreRead MoreThe Importance Of Communication As An Aspect Of Partnership Within Current Nursing Care1624 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscuss the importance of communication as an aspect of partnership within current nursing care. As stated by Brooks and Heath (1985, as cited in Bramhall, 2014), communication is â€Å"a process during which information is shared through the exchange of verbal or non-verbal messages† (p 53). Maintaining communication between the nurse and the patient regarding treatments and emotions contributes to improved patient-centred care. 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That is to say, for my family, spirituality and faith in God are what gave purpose to life. Principles and practices of faith were an integral part of daily living. Life has a purpose when one serves God by doing His will. Principles included loving others, being kind, helpi ng those in need,

Sunday, May 10, 2020

The Basics of Professional Research Paper Writing Service

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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Spanish American War War over Rough Riders Reign Free Essays

War over Rough Riders Reign With president William McKinney taking charge in order to protect his Americans living in Cuba from the Spanish, he sent over the U. S. S Maine. We will write a custom essay sample on Spanish American War: War over Rough Riders Reign or any similar topic only for you Order Now But on the way over, the barbarous uncivilized Spaniards blew up the ship before it could arrive at its chosen destination. â€Å"Remember the Maine! † was cheered by Americans all over the country. George Dewey valiantly storms his American Navy into Manila Bay. Dewey’s dominance was distinct. Spain lost 384 men in this battle, America lost only 1. Dewey sacrificed 11,000 troops in the Philippines and joined forces with the Filipinos Rebels. This greatly intimidated the Spanish and made the United States very intrepid. The Rough Riders, which are a volunteer cavalry under the command of Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt, and 17,000 American troops, invaded the port city of Santiago in June, 1898. The Rough Riders were definitely the combatants of this battle and caused the Americans to paramount. They were so victorious that the Rough Riders led another battle; The Battle of San Juan Hill was a famous land battle that started on July 1st, 1898. Two days later, the doltish Spanish attempted to escape the American blockage of Santiago Harbor. They were unsuccessful and eventually surrendered on July 17th, 1898. American troops raided Puerto Rico in a conclusion to the last battle. This led to yet another American triumph. The United States is celebrating its victory in this brief war over Spain. As a result of winning the war, our American government has forced Spain to sign the Treaty of Paris. The clauses of this treaty are that Cuba will become independent, Spain will give Puerto Rico and the Pacific Island of Guam to the United States, and the United States will pay 20 million dollars for the annexation of the Philippines Islands. In this short 16 week war, 5,400 Americans lost their lives defending our country against the brutal Spanish. So in the end the United States was once again victorious and protected the weaker countries from certain demise of the debased Spaniards. GO U. S. A.!!!!!!! How to cite Spanish American War: War over Rough Riders Reign, Essays

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The War

Table of Contents Introduction Terrorism Weapons and Mass Destruction The Gap between the South and the North Conclusion Bibliography Footnotes Introduction A number of challenges, ranging from economic, political to social, characterize the 21st century. The main problems that confront all states in the global system are the preservation of sovereignty and promotion of national interests. In fact, states are concerned more with the promotion of national security.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The War-prone and Chaotic 21st Century specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research shows that states would do everything within their power to protect their national borders. The emergence of global problems is indeed the main issue that threatens human life. The security of many states is at stake due to terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Powerful states are threatened just as the weak states beca use terrorism does not spare any state. Moreover, there is always tension between the developed and the developing countries because of issues surrounding resource distribution.This article looks at some of the factors that have contributed to the prevalence of problems in the 21st century. The article invokes a number of theories and incorporates the views of international relations scholars. Terrorism In the current international system, terrorism is the major threat facing all states. Countries are faced with both internal and external threats, but terrorism remains the major threat. Terrorism is a problem that cannot be resolved unless states delve into its origins. Terrorists use violence to frustrate governments, irrespective of whether the country is developed or poor. In other words, no country or individual is spared by the heinous acts of terrorists. In the modern international system, there are various categories of terrorists, each with its own mode of operation. Some te rrorists threaten to use weapons of mass destruction while others resort to suicide bombing1. Scholars argue that terrorism is a result of depression, melancholy, hopelessness, helplessness, and defeat. Before the Cold War era, terrorism was not a big issue in the international system because extremist organizations were under the control of the US and the Soviet Union. The hostilities between the US and the Soviet Union could not give room to terrorism. In fact, countries that were suspected to support terrorism were constantly frustrated.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It should be noted that there is no Leviathan in the international system, which is compared to the centralized government. This gives state and non-state actors an opportunity to act in a manner that is beneficial to them. Moreover, there are weak and powerful states in the international system. Powerf ul states are well off in terms of military technology and development. In this regard, weak states feel threatened, which inspires them to develop some of the sophisticated weapons to counter the influence of powerful states. Weapons and Mass Destruction Availability of weapons of mass destruction is another threat to the world security in the current international system, which has made the 21st century the most disordered century in the human history. It is upon this that the Atomic Agency was created to supervise the production and distribution of weapons of mass destruction. Before the Cold War, only powerful states, such as Russia and the US, had the capability of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. However, these weapons could not be used to destroy life and property. In fact, the superpowers wanted to prove to each other that they were technologically competent. They could not engage in war because they were mutually assured of destruction. Currently, a number of stat es have the ability to produce weapons of mass destruction. For instance, countries such as India and Pakistan have the ability to produce nuclear energy. This is very dangerous to the world security, especially when such weapons get into the hands of terrorism. The ideas of Mearsheimer support the fact that the international system exists according to the Hobbestian state of nature meaning that life is short-lived, anarchic, brutal, and nasty2. This implies that each state is concerned with its national security. States would do everything to ensure that they achieve their national interests. The Gap between the South and the North The third problem facing the world in the 21st century is the increasing economic gap between poor and rich states. Studies show that the gap between the south and the north is always in the increase. The problems facing countries of the south is how to initiate development projects.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The War-prone an d Chaotic 21st Century specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, scholars blame colonialism for the problems that are currently facing developing countries, particularly in Africa. The effects of neocolonialism are severe in the 21st century meaning that even the few available solutions are inapplicable. For instance, the issue of anger and insecurity cannot be resolved through provision of aid and monetary assistance. Neocolonialists focus so much on establishing a cash economy by emphasizing on cash crops such as coffee and tea. This has always affected the agricultural policies of developing countries. Moreover, the infrastructural development was tempered with during colonialism, which is now haunting poor states in the 21st century3. This explains the reasons why weak states attempt to acquire nuclear energy. In the third assumption, Mearsheimer was of the view that states would always suspect the actions of each other because on e state will never understand the intentions of the other. Due to this, states try as much as possible to match the policies of their counterparts in terms of economic and military development. Since powerful states struggle to maintain their influence globally, they always apply repressive rules, which force weak states to repel. This has even complicated the situation in the 21st century because weak states are forced to adopt policies that do not support their domestic economic policies. Conclusion Mearsheimer seems to agree with the ideas of liberalist scholars such as Aart Scholte and Brent Steele because actors in the international system are rational actors meaning that they understand the external environment. This view is misplaced because states cooperate only to achieve their national interests. Steele suggests that states respect the internationally recognized laws. This view is actually inaccurate because powerful states are not even members of the internationally estab lished organizations such as the International Criminal Court4. Scholte analyzed the role of global civil societies in the 21st century. Similarly, his analysis was misplaced because the activities of the civil groups are not always similar in all societies. Globalization is a political concept that is used to suppress and dictate policies to the poor states in the international system. This means that globalization benefits only the rich states.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Bibliography Mearsheimer, John. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. New York: Norton Company, 2001. Scholte, Aart. The Political Economy of Globalization. London: Macmillan, 2000. Sciolino, Elaine. Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran. New York: Simon Schuster, 2000. Steele, Brent. â€Å"Liberal-Idealism: A constructivist Critique.† International Studies Review 9.1 (2007): 23–52. Footnotes 1 Elaine Sciolino, Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran (New York: Simon Schuster, 2000), 98. 2John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: Norton Company, 2001), 26. 3Aart Scholte, The Political Economy of Globalization (London: Macmillan, 2000), 181. 4 Brent Steele, â€Å"Liberal-Idealism: A constructivist Critique,† International Studies Review 9.1 (2007): 29. This essay on The War-prone and Chaotic 21st Century was written and submitted by user W1ldPack to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Friday, March 20, 2020

How Verbs Become Adjectives

How Verbs Become Adjectives How Verbs Become Adjectives How Verbs Become Adjectives By Mark Nichol What determines whether a verb-to-adjective transformation ends with the suffix -able (as in assessable) or with -ible (as in accessible)? Why do some root words accept both options? What happens if the word ends with an e? Answers to these and other questions about -able and -ible follow. The suffixes -able and -ible both express capability, fitness, or worth (or mean â€Å"tending, given, or liable to†), but there’s one key practical difference: The former flourishes, and the latter has fossilized. New words can be formed by attaching -able to an adjective (I’ll get back to that in a moment) or a noun (more about that later, too) but -ible, though widespread in existing words, is discouraged for new coinages. Some words use one form unequivocally. (For example, immovable and invincible are never rendered immovible and invincable). Others are spelled either way, although one form predominates (as in the case of discernible and its less frequent variant discernable). In some cases, the variants reflect a distinction of meaning: For example, collectable means â€Å"able to be collected,† but the more common collectible has the connotation of desirability and is used as a noun to denote something worth collecting. Intransitive verbs can also be transformed into adjectives by appending -able. Strictly speaking, reliable, for example, means â€Å"able to be relied on,† not just â€Å"able to be relied,† but the needs of the language have silenced opposition to such usage. Adjectives are also formed from attaching -able to nouns, such as objectionable from objection, though the nonword objectable is the logical formation based on the verb-plus-able formula. Two other peculiarities exist regarding the suffix: When it is appended to a verb ending in -ate, such as calculate, the original suffix is omitted, resulting, for example, in calculable (which is overshadowed in frequency of usage by its antonym, incalculable). And when a word ends in e, such as in the case of move, the e is omitted when -able is attached, hence movable. (You’ll see moveable and the like in older publications, but this form is rare in contemporary usage.) Exceptions occur when a soft c or a soft g precedes the e, as in serviceable and changeable. When coining new terms, keep these rules in mind though consider, as well, that even some existing words, such as embraceable, are ungainly, and newly minted terms may be disagreeable to some readers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should KnowRunning Amok or Running Amuck?Ebook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Why Top Marketers Are 397% More Successful With Ben Sailer

Why Top Marketers Are 397% More Successful With Ben Sailer What separates the best managed and most successful marketing teams from the rest? How are they leaving you in the dust? What are the strongest predictors for success? Today, my guest is Ben Sailer, content marketing lead at . We talk about our 2019 State of Marketing Strategy Report. surveyed more than 3,000 marketers to find out what they’re doing to be successful. Inception and process behind State of Marketing Strategy Report Why do original research? Why put in so much time, effort, and energy? Generate your own data, instead of borrowing statistics How do you stack up? Sense of doing ok, but room for improvement to crush it 5 Marketing Insights about Top Marketers: Being Organized: They’re confident about their organizational skills; 397%   more likely to report being successful Setting Goals: They know which goals drive success; 376% more likely to report being successful Documenting Strategy: It needs to be nimble and actionable, not detailed and lengthy; 313% more likely to report being successful Planning Projects: Be clear about what needs to be done, by who, and why; 356% more likely to report being successful Using Agile Methodology: Marketers implement it to manage projects and processes; 252% more likely to report being successful Links: 2019 State of Marketing Strategy Report AMP 127: The Case For Agile Marketing: What 400+ Marketers Reveal As Top Benefits And Barriers With Andrea Fryrear From AgileSherpas If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes: â€Å"If you actually have your own original insight, that’s a lot more powerful.† â€Å"The insights we were able to extract from our datawere really corroborated. Some assumptions we hadwere a little bit more surprising.† â€Å"If you are a marketer who is cognizant of goals, you’re thoughtful about setting them, and if you work in that sort of mode, it makes sense that you’re also organized.† â€Å"If a goal is your destination, your documented strategy in whatever shape or form that takes is your roadmap to get there.†

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Healthcare Workforce Shortage in Hospice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Workforce Shortage in Hospice - Essay Example And there is an estimation that in the coming years it will increase at a rate of 31% per annum. In terms of patients the number is increasing daily, but the one who has take care of them like Doctors and the Hospital staff is decreasing day by day. More and more people are opting subjects that are not related to medical stream. Thus increasing the gap and resulting in the shortage of skilled medical staff. One feels that the job is very stressful and needs to put his/her concentration on the job completely. A slight negligence could be result a very serious situation. So some people think its better to lose a job in other sector than in Hospice because in latter you may lose job and endanger a patient's life for negligence. So you are accountable for every patient you are assigned to. The scholarships awarded by the Universities are not enough and the recruitment is very limited. No one is going to recruit a medical student until and unless he/she has some experience. So students end up as interns or junior doctors while pursuing their Masters that is a very essential degree, without it no one is going to consider them for a job. So it's again work and work nothing but work, then how come an average person want to join in a medical stream. This is one of the reasons that affecting the organizations like Hospice. According to Center for Health Work

Monday, February 3, 2020

Research Article Presentation Speech or Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Article - Speech or Presentation Example Additionally, the research has a number of strengths in the research data collection and computation. The research uses the cluster sampling technique known for its cost effectiveness in the identification of the research participants. An effective selection of the research participants gives an effective representation of the research target audience thus authenticating the claims of the new information. The cluster sampling techniques groups similar respondents together thereby making them easily accessible to the researcher. Additionally, the research employs the three different data collection techniques a feature that pools together the strengths of the three techniques thus making the research more effective. The use of a sample representation gains its validity from the impossibility of investigating every member of the public targeted by the research, the researcher therefore defines the research title and formulates a scope of the study. With these, he or she therefore devis es ways of accessing the respondents and using their responses to allude to the rest of similar population. Additionally, the research uses graphical presentation of its finding. This does not only make the research more presentable but also makes the interpretation of the research. ...This develops the information need that the researcher therefore seeks to satisfy by conducting the research. Through the elaborative background, the researcher provides a link between Neurogenic Bowel in spinal cord injuries and the quality of life that such member of the society lead. This descriptive introduction gains relevance for the research and the different methodologies that the researcher uses in developing his arguments in the conclusion. The research had a number of weaknesses too key among which included cluster sampling methodology. Despite being cost effective, the sampling technology hastily generalizes the respondents a feature that makes the research less relevant to the target popu lation. Additionally, the use of the three data gathering techniques is also redundant and makes the research repetitive thus time consuming. The use of questionnaires is largely similar to the use of interview in most cases, the researcher employs the two concurrently which makes the research process more costly and more repetitive. However, the descriptive research methodology that the researcher employs has a number of weaknesses all of which influence the effectiveness of the research findings thus the efficacy of the conclusion statement. This research structure is normally more theoretical in the description of the effects of the research variables in which case are the Neurogenic Bowel in spinal cord injuries and the quality of life. Both of the concepts in this research that constitute the variables are abstract and the researcher does not interpret these into effective mathematically computable variables. The failure by the researcher to achieve this makes the research proc ess less legitimate, the researcher

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Effect of the Financial Crash on Islamic Banks in the UK

Effect of the Financial Crash on Islamic Banks in the UK Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Subject Background of the Subject General Objective The purpose of this study is to examine how the internal factors of the Islamic Banking affected their performance before, during and after the financial crisis in the GCC in comparison to the conventional banking in the same area. Research Questions This study aims to answer the following questions: How did the financial crisis affect the profitability of Islamic Banks in comparison to Conventional Banks? What are the internal factors (bank specific characteristics) that influence the profitability of Islamic banking for every year from 2006 2009? Did these factors have the same impact on the profitability of Islamic Banking before, during and after the financial crisis? Did these internal factors influence the profitability of Islamic Banking in the same manner as of the Conventional Banking? Need for the Study Significance of the Study Assumptions of the Study Limitations of the Study Although we cannot neglect the importance of the external factors on the profitability of Islamic Banking, they were not included in this study. To understand the reason behind this decision, we need to go through the different types of external factors and how they are classified: Macroeconomic Factors Country Regulation Rules Bank Regulation Rules These factors were not included for the following reasons: Since we are examining the performance of 92 banks (27 Islamic Banks and 65 Conventional Banks) in 6 countries, the number of countries used in the study is not significant enough to study the impact of GDP and inflation accurately on Bank profitability especially when examining each year separately Country Regulation Rules as per the IMF Database, although it differs slightly for the selected countries, did not change over the period from 2006 to 2009. This means that for each bank, these factors remained constant. Data about Bank Regulation Rules could not be obtained for GCC banks Delimitation of the Study This study was delaminated to the Islamic and Conventional Banks in the GCC whose data could be obtained in the Bankscope database. Chapter 2: Literature Review Overview of Islamic Banking Islamic Baking has established as an alternative to conventional interest-based banking. The first stirring of the Islamic Banking movement began in 1963 by Dr. Ahmed Alnajar in a small town in Egypt, called Mit Ghamar. Dr. Alnajar completed his education in Germany and found that it had many saving banks operating on interest. He took the idea from a savings bank in Germany and created his own small Islamic bank that was interest free. After Dr. Alnajars small bank proved successful, the establishment of other Islamic banks followed. In 1971, the Nasser Social Bank was founded in Egypt with the objective of lending out money as a charity on the basis of a profit and loss sharing system and helping people in need. And in 1975, the idea of Islamic banking spread to other Islamic regions such Dubai Islamic bank in United Arab Emirates and The Islamic Development (IDB) Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Wilson, 1990). Even though Islamic Banking has only been around for thirty years and is still in an evolving stage, Islamic Banking is the fastest growing segment of the credit markets in the Muslim countries. In 2009, Assets held by Islamic Banking banks rose by 28.6 percent to $822bn from $639bn in 2008, according to The Bankers â€Å"Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions† survey while conventional banks posted annual asset growth of just 6.8 percent. Furthermore, GCC states accounted for $353.2bn or 42.9 percent of the global aggregate, while Iran remained the largest single market for Shariah-compliant assets, accounting for 35.6 percent of the total. Finally, Islamic banking operations are not limited to Islamic countries but are spreading throughout the world. One reason is the growing trend toward transcending national boundaries, and unifying Muslims into a political and economic entity that could have a significant impact on the pattern of world trade (Abdel-Magid, 1981). Islamic Banking Rules and Principles Islamic banking rules are according to the Islamic Shariah derived from the Quran and prophet Mohameds sayings. The three main practices that are clearly prohibited in the Quran and the prophets sayings are, Riba (Interest), Gharar (Uncertainty), and Maysir (Betting). Prohibition of Riba or any predetermined or fixed rate in financial institutions is the most important factor in the Islamic principles pertaining to banking. As stated in the Quran â€Å"Allah forbids riba†. Riba means an increase and under Shariah the term refers to the premium that must be paid by the borrower to the lender along with the principle amount as a condition for the loan (Omar and Abdel, 1996). Gharar occurs when the purchaser does not know what has been bought and the seller does not know what has been sold. In other words, trading should be clear by stating in a contract the existing actual object(s) to be sold, with a price and time to eliminate confusion and uncertainty between the buyers and the sellers. Maisir is considered in Islam as one form of injustice in the appropriation of others wealth. The act of gambling, sometimes referred to betting on the occurrence of a future event, is prohibited and no reward accrues for the employment of spending of wealth that an individual may gain through means of gambling. Under this prohibition, any contract entered into, should be free from uncertainty, risk and speculation. Contracting parties should have perfect knowledge of the counter values intended to be exchanged as a result of their transactions. Therefore, and according to Ahmed and Hassan (2007), the principles of Islamic banking and finance enshrined from al-Quran and Prophet Mohamed‘s Sayings can be summed up as follows: Any predetermined payment over and above the actual amount of principal is prohibited. The lender must share in the profits or losses arising out of the enterprise for which the money was lent. Making money from money is not acceptable in Islam. Gharar (deception) and Maisir (gambling) are also prohibited. Investments should only support practices or products that are not forbidden or even discouraged by Islam. Islamic Banking Products Islamic Banking products have to be done according to Islamic rules and principles, based on profit and loss sharing as well as avoiding interest. According to BNM statistics 2007, Al Bai Bithaman Ajil financing is the most common in Islamic Banking. There are a lot of Islamic Banking products; however there are some famous Islamic products that will be discussed in this section. 1. Al Bai Bithaman Ajil /BBA This involves the credit sale of goods on a deferred payment basis. In BAA, the Islamic bank will purchase certain assets on a deferred payment basis and then sell the goods back to the customer at an agreed price including some margin or profit. The customer will make payment by installments over an agreed period. A fixed rate BBA is a powerful hedging tool against interest rates (Rosly, 1999). 2. Murabahah Murabahah is a contract of sale. The Islamic Bank acts as a middle man and purchases the goods requested by the customer. The bank will later sell the goods to the customer in a sale and purchase agreement, whereby the lender re-sales to the borrower at a higher price agreed on by both parties. These are more for short term financing 3. Mudharabah According to Kettel (2006), Mudharabah is a basic principle of profit and loss, where instead of lending money at a fixed rate return, the banker forms a partnership with the borrower, thereby sharing in a ventures profit and loss. Mudharabah is an agreement between the lender and entrepreneur, whereby the lender agrees to finance the project on a profit sharing basis according to a predetermined ratio agreed by both parties concerned. If there are any losses the lender will bear all the losses. 4. Musharakah Musharakah means partnership whereby the Islamic institution provides the capital needed by the customer with the understanding that they both share the profit and loss according to a formula agreed before the business transaction is transacted. In Musharakah all partners are entitled to participate in the management of the investment but it is not compulsory. Musharakah can help in providing financing for large investments in modern economic activities 5. Al Ijarah Ijarah means meaning to give something on a rental basis. In Ijarah, the bank acquires ownership based on the promise and leases back to the client for a given period. The customer pays the rental but the ownership still remains with the bank or lender. As the ownership remains with the lessor (bank), it continues to give the service for which it was rented. Under this contract, the lessor has the right to re-negotiate the quantum of the lease payment at every agreed interval to ensure rental remains in line with the market rates (Hume, 2004). 6. Wadiah Wadiah is a trust contract and the bank provides gift (hibah) and various types of benefits to the customer. This is exactly like a normal conventional savings account. 7. Istisna Istisna allows one party buys the goods and the other party undertakes to manufacture them according to agreed specifications. Normally, Istisna is used to finance construction and manufacturing projects. 8. Salam Salam is defined as the forward purchase of specified goods with full forward payment. This contract is normally used for financing agricultural production. According to Hassan (2004), Salam based future contracts for agricultural commodities, supported by Islamic Banks, can help to overcome the agricultural financial problems Table 2.1 lists the products of conventional banking and their correspondent products in Islamic Banking. Source: Obaidullah, 2005 Financial Crisis and the Islamic Banking To be able to compete with conventional banks, Islamic banks have to offer financial products that are comparable to the ones offered by the conventional banks. This exposes the Islamic banks to similar credit, liquidity and risks driven by market instability. Despite that, Islamic banks managed to remain stable at the early phases of the crisis. That was driven by three main Factors. First, Islamic banks financing activities are strongly tied to the real economic activities than their conventional counterpart. Even though Musharakah and Mudharabah both provide better risk sharing while keeping strong link to the real sector, they are used minimally for different reasons. Most financing activities are done through Murabah and Ijarah followed by Istinsa. In the GCC and during 2007, Murabaha comprised of 65.4%, Ijarah 12.78% and Istinsa 2.83%. Both Murabaha and Ijrah transactions require the Islamic bank to know the clients purspose and use of finance as well the ownership of the asset by the bank. This help in ensuring that the funds are used for their stated purposes. On the other hand, conventional banks do not require disclosing the use of funds as long as the client is believed to creditworthy or can post suitable collateral. Second, Islamic banks avoid direct exposure to exotic and toxic financial derivative products. Since Shariah prohibits riba and gharar, the asset portfolio of Islamic banks did not include any CDOs, CMBSs, and CDSs which turned out to be highly toxic for conventional banks and amplifying factor for the crisis. These derivative products, initially used for hedging purposes, became device for highly speculative investments among conventional financial institutions. Unavailability of hedging instruments for Islamic financial institutions, which was perceived as weakness before the crisis, became a strengthening factor for them. However, exposure to other investment risks driven from equity markets, sukuk, real-estate and ownership stakes in other businesses remain a source of concern when overdone or undertaken purely for speculative gains. Third, Islamic banks in general have a larger proportion of their assets in liquid form than their conventional counterparts. This is driven by two main reasons: (1) there is no lender of last resort (LOLR) facility available to Islamic banks, and they do not have access to market liquidity in the form of the interbank market, high liquidity was maintained for risk management purpose. (2) Excess liquidity is required due to lack of interest-free short-term investment opportunities as real economic investments require some development period. As the global financial crisis became a global economic crisis, it started to affect Islamic banks in an indirect manner. The financial crisis has triggered a chain reaction whereby the slowdown in the real economies of the developed countries has started to affect economic growth and investment activities in export driven economies of the developing countries through lower trade in goods and services as well as through the declining commodity prices including that of oil. The economic downturn is not only affecting the investment and financing activities of financial institutions including those of Islamic banks, it is also reducing the funding of these banks through lower personal savings and declining corporate profits. It should be noted that most of the Islamic banking industry comprises of commercial banks whose major funding source are retail deposits, investment banking constitutes only a small portion of the industry. Islamic banks in some regions may face risk on their fina ncing and investment side of the balance sheet due to the crisis induced volatility of equity markets where these banks have large positions. Downturn in the real estate markets where these banks have large direct and indirect exposures is also another source of risk. Similarly, the changing wealth position of their high-net-worth (HNW) clients who also hold financial exposure in the hard-hit conventional financial sector of the West and therefore are now postponing any investment plans is also a factor. The relative importance of each of these factors varies by the region. For example, the banks in the GCC and particularly in the UAE are more exposed to real estate market risk, followed by risk of international equity markets. For the banks in Asia, their investments in domestic and international equity markets are a source of concern as equity markets are showing higher volatility. In some of the countries, the existing fiscal imbalance which has widened after the crisis is also a factor in the increased volatility of the markets Previous Literature The study of bank profitability is an important tool to evaluate bank operation by examining the different factors affecting bank profitability and using these factors for management planning and strategic analysis. In the last four decades, many studies have been conducted to study both bank profitability and the determinants of bank profitability either for particular country or for a panel of countries. These studies normally divide these factors into internal factors and external factors. Internal factors represent the bank-specific characteristics such as bank size, liquidity structure; liabilities†¦etc while external factors can be macroeconomic factors such as inflation and GDP growth or Country-specific regulations rules and practices. In the area of banking profitability, many studies have been conducted to investigate the profitability of conventional banks while only few were conducted in the field of Islamic banking. In this chapter, we will review these studies for conventional banking first and then will focus on studies in the Islamic banking field. Then we will cover the conceptual framework of this research. Conventional Banking Different studies have been conducted in the field of conventional banking profitability. Short (1979), Bourke (1989), Molyneux and Thornton (1992), Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004), Peters et al. (2004) are some of the researchers in the field. Short (1979) is one of the early scholars who studied the relationship between banking profit rates and concentration for sixty banks in Canada, Western Europe and Japan during the 1970s and he included independent variables including government ownership and concentration by using H index to quantify concentration. Results showed that the government ownership impact on profitability varied throughout the countries studied but expressed an overall negative relationship. He also found evidence that indicated higher concentration rates lead to higher profit rates (Short, 1979). Bourke (1989) also compared concentration to bank profitability but included other determinants. Bourke (1989) covered ninety banks in Australia, Europe, and North America between 1972 and 198 and examined different internal and external factors: internal factors such as staff expenses, capital ratio, liquidity ratio, and loans to deposit ratio; external factors such as regulation, size of economies of scale, competition, concentration, growth in market, interest rate, government ownership, and market power. His results show that increase in government ownership leads to lower profitability in banking. He also found that concentration, interest rates, and money supply are positively related to profitability along with capital and reserves of total assets as well as cash and bank deposits of total assets. Bourke adds that well capitalized banks enjoy cheaper access to sources of funds as they are less risky than less capitalized banks (Bourke, 1989). Later, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) studied the determinants of European banks profitability. The paper examined eighteen counties in Europe between 1986 and 1989. This paper replicated Bourkes (1989) work by using internal and external determinants of bank profitability. However, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) results showed that government ownership expresses a positive coefficient with return on capital (profitability) which contradicts with Bourkes findings. Other results were similar to Bourkes, showing that concentration, interest rate, and money supply were positively related to bank profitability (Molyneux and Thornton, 1992). In one of the recent papers on bank profitability on European banks, Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004) shows similar findings to the paper by Molyneux and Thornton (1992). It investigates the determinants of profitability in six European countries and it covered 665 banks between 1992 and 1998. The study used cross-sectional and dynamic panel models. The variables used in the regression analysis were ROE, the logarithmic of total assets, Off Balance Sheet (OBS) dividends, Capital to Asset Ratio (CAR). The results from both models were similar: evidence reveals that there is a positive relationship between size (total assets) and profitability. Meanwhile, OBS appears to have a positive relationship with profitability for UK but neutral or negative for other European countries. Moreover, results also state that CAR has a positive relationship with profitability. Furthermore, the paper touched on ownership type by indicating that there is high competition in banking due to the fact t hat there is foreign bank involvement in domestic banks, and that profitability is not linked to ownership (Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson, 2004). Peters et al. (2004) studied the characteristics of banks in post-war Lebanon for the years 1993 to 2000 and compared the results to a group of banks from five other countries in the Middle East including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman for the years 1995 through 1999. They used Return on Equity (ROE) measure profitability and leverage and they employed regression models that relate bank profitability ratios to various explanatory variables. This study tests the relationships between bank profitability and size, asset portfolio composition, off-balance sheet items, ownership by a foreign bank, and the ratio of employment to assets. The results show a strong association between economic growth and bank profitability, whether measured by ROE or ROA. They found that Lebanese banks are profitable, but not as profitable as a control group of banks from five other countries located in the Middle East. Islamic Banking In the area of Islamic Banking, Bashir (2000) assessed the performance of Islamic banks in eight Middle Eastern countries. He analyzed important bank characteristics that affect the performance of Islamic banks by controlling economic and financial structure measures. The paper studied fourteen Islamic banks from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates between 1993 and 1998. To examining profitability, the paper used Non Interest Margin (NIM), Before Tax Profit (BTP), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE) as performance indicators. There were also internal and external variables: internal variables were bank size, leverage, loans, short-term funding, overhead, and ownership; external variables included macroeconomic environment, regulation, and financial market. In general, results from the study confirm previous findings and show that Islamic banks profitability is positively related to equity and loans. Consequently, if loans and equity are high, Islamic banks should be more profitable. If leverage is high and loan to assets is also large, Islamic banks will be more profitable. The results also indicate that favorable macro-economic conditions help profitability (Bashir, 2000). Hassoune (2002) examined Islamic bank profitability in an interest rate cycle. In his paper, compared ROE and ROA Volatility for both Islamic and conventional banks in three GCC region, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He states that since Islamic banking is based on profit and loss sharing, managements have to generate sufficient returns for investors given that they are not willing accept no returns (Hassoune, 2002). Bashir and Hassan (2004) studied the determinants of Islamic banking profitability covers 43 Islamic Banks between 1994 and 2001 in 21 countries. Their figures show Islamic banks to have a better capital asset ratio compared to commercial banks which means that Islamic banks are well capitalized. Also, their paper used internal and external banks characteristics to determine profitability as well as economic measures, financial structure variables, and country variables. They used, Net-non Interest Margin (NIM), which is non interest income to the bank such as, bank fees, service charges and foreign exchange to identify profitability. Other profitability indicators adopted were Before Tax Profit divided by total assets (BTP/TA), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE). Results obtained by Bashir and Hassan (2004), were similar to the Bashir (2000) results, which found a positive relationship between capital and profitability but a negative relationship between loans and profitability. Bashir and Hassan also found total assets to have a negative relationship with profitability which amazingly means that smaller banks are more profitable. In addition, during an economic boom, banks profitability seems to improve because there are fewer nonperforming loans. Inflation, on the other hand, does not have any effect on Islamic bank profitability. Finally, results also indicate that overhead expenses for Islamic banks have a positive relation with profitability which means if expenses increase, profitability also increases (Bashir and Hassan, 2004). Alkassim (2005) examined the determinants of profitability in the banking sector of the GCC countries and found that asset have a negative impact on profitability of conventional banks but have a positive impact on profitability of Islamic banks. They also observed that positive impact on profitability for conventional but have a negative impact for Islamic banking. Liu and Hung (2006) examined the relationship between service quality and long-term profitability of Taiwans banks and found a positive link between branch number and long-term profitability and also proved that average salaries are detrimental to banks profit. Masood, Aktan and Chaudhary (2009) studied the co-integration and causal relationship between Return on Equity and Return on Assets for 12 banks in KSA for the period between 1999- 2007. For their research, the used time series model of ADF unit-root test, Johansen co-integration test, Granger causality test and graphical comparison model. They found that there are stable long run relationships between the two variables and that it is only a one-direction cause-effect relationship between ROE and ROA. The results show that ROE is a granger cause to ROA but ROA is not a granger cause to ROE that is ROE can affect ROA input but ROA does not affect the ROE in the Saudi Arabian Banking sector. Conceptual Framework Theoretical framework is a basic conceptual structure organized around a theory. It defines the kinds of variables that are going to be used in the analysis. In this research, the theoretical framework consists of seven independent variables that represent four aspects of the Bank Characteristics. Theses aspects are the Bank Size (Total Assets), Capital Structure (Equity and Tangible Equity), Liquidity (Loans and Liquid Assets) and Liabilities (Deposits and Overheads). Bank profitability is the dependent variable and two measures of bank profitability are used in this study, namely return on average equity (ROAE) and return on average assets (ROAA). In this section we develop the hypothesis to be examined in this research paper. Development of Hypotheses This paper attempts to test seven hypotheses. A hypothesis is a claim or assumption about the value of a population parameter. It consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible correlation between multiple phenomena. According to Becker (1995), hypothesis testing is the process of judging which of two contradictory statements is correct. Hypothesis 1: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the total assets (ASSETS). Total Assets of a company represents its valuables including both tangible assets such as equipments and properties along with its intangible assets such as goodwill and patent. For banks, total assets include loans which are the basis for bank operations either through interest or interest-free practices. Total assets is used as a tool to measure the bank size; banks with higher total assets indicate bigger banks. Molyneux and el (2004) included total assets in their study and found a positive significant relationship between total assets and profitability. Therefore, total assets are expected to have positive relation with profitability which means that bigger banks are expected to be more profitable. Total assets are converted logarithmic to be more consistent with the other ratios Hypothesis 2: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with equity to asset ratio (EQUITY). Total equity over total assets measures banks capital structure and adequate. It indicated bank ability to withstand losses and handle risk exposure with shareholders. Hassan and Bashir (2004) examined the relationship between EQUITY and bank profitability and found positive relationship. Therefore, EQUITY is included in this stud Effect of the Financial Crash on Islamic Banks in the UK Effect of the Financial Crash on Islamic Banks in the UK Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Subject Background of the Subject General Objective The purpose of this study is to examine how the internal factors of the Islamic Banking affected their performance before, during and after the financial crisis in the GCC in comparison to the conventional banking in the same area. Research Questions This study aims to answer the following questions: How did the financial crisis affect the profitability of Islamic Banks in comparison to Conventional Banks? What are the internal factors (bank specific characteristics) that influence the profitability of Islamic banking for every year from 2006 2009? Did these factors have the same impact on the profitability of Islamic Banking before, during and after the financial crisis? Did these internal factors influence the profitability of Islamic Banking in the same manner as of the Conventional Banking? Need for the Study Significance of the Study Assumptions of the Study Limitations of the Study Although we cannot neglect the importance of the external factors on the profitability of Islamic Banking, they were not included in this study. To understand the reason behind this decision, we need to go through the different types of external factors and how they are classified: Macroeconomic Factors Country Regulation Rules Bank Regulation Rules These factors were not included for the following reasons: Since we are examining the performance of 92 banks (27 Islamic Banks and 65 Conventional Banks) in 6 countries, the number of countries used in the study is not significant enough to study the impact of GDP and inflation accurately on Bank profitability especially when examining each year separately Country Regulation Rules as per the IMF Database, although it differs slightly for the selected countries, did not change over the period from 2006 to 2009. This means that for each bank, these factors remained constant. Data about Bank Regulation Rules could not be obtained for GCC banks Delimitation of the Study This study was delaminated to the Islamic and Conventional Banks in the GCC whose data could be obtained in the Bankscope database. Chapter 2: Literature Review Overview of Islamic Banking Islamic Baking has established as an alternative to conventional interest-based banking. The first stirring of the Islamic Banking movement began in 1963 by Dr. Ahmed Alnajar in a small town in Egypt, called Mit Ghamar. Dr. Alnajar completed his education in Germany and found that it had many saving banks operating on interest. He took the idea from a savings bank in Germany and created his own small Islamic bank that was interest free. After Dr. Alnajars small bank proved successful, the establishment of other Islamic banks followed. In 1971, the Nasser Social Bank was founded in Egypt with the objective of lending out money as a charity on the basis of a profit and loss sharing system and helping people in need. And in 1975, the idea of Islamic banking spread to other Islamic regions such Dubai Islamic bank in United Arab Emirates and The Islamic Development (IDB) Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Wilson, 1990). Even though Islamic Banking has only been around for thirty years and is still in an evolving stage, Islamic Banking is the fastest growing segment of the credit markets in the Muslim countries. In 2009, Assets held by Islamic Banking banks rose by 28.6 percent to $822bn from $639bn in 2008, according to The Bankers â€Å"Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions† survey while conventional banks posted annual asset growth of just 6.8 percent. Furthermore, GCC states accounted for $353.2bn or 42.9 percent of the global aggregate, while Iran remained the largest single market for Shariah-compliant assets, accounting for 35.6 percent of the total. Finally, Islamic banking operations are not limited to Islamic countries but are spreading throughout the world. One reason is the growing trend toward transcending national boundaries, and unifying Muslims into a political and economic entity that could have a significant impact on the pattern of world trade (Abdel-Magid, 1981). Islamic Banking Rules and Principles Islamic banking rules are according to the Islamic Shariah derived from the Quran and prophet Mohameds sayings. The three main practices that are clearly prohibited in the Quran and the prophets sayings are, Riba (Interest), Gharar (Uncertainty), and Maysir (Betting). Prohibition of Riba or any predetermined or fixed rate in financial institutions is the most important factor in the Islamic principles pertaining to banking. As stated in the Quran â€Å"Allah forbids riba†. Riba means an increase and under Shariah the term refers to the premium that must be paid by the borrower to the lender along with the principle amount as a condition for the loan (Omar and Abdel, 1996). Gharar occurs when the purchaser does not know what has been bought and the seller does not know what has been sold. In other words, trading should be clear by stating in a contract the existing actual object(s) to be sold, with a price and time to eliminate confusion and uncertainty between the buyers and the sellers. Maisir is considered in Islam as one form of injustice in the appropriation of others wealth. The act of gambling, sometimes referred to betting on the occurrence of a future event, is prohibited and no reward accrues for the employment of spending of wealth that an individual may gain through means of gambling. Under this prohibition, any contract entered into, should be free from uncertainty, risk and speculation. Contracting parties should have perfect knowledge of the counter values intended to be exchanged as a result of their transactions. Therefore, and according to Ahmed and Hassan (2007), the principles of Islamic banking and finance enshrined from al-Quran and Prophet Mohamed‘s Sayings can be summed up as follows: Any predetermined payment over and above the actual amount of principal is prohibited. The lender must share in the profits or losses arising out of the enterprise for which the money was lent. Making money from money is not acceptable in Islam. Gharar (deception) and Maisir (gambling) are also prohibited. Investments should only support practices or products that are not forbidden or even discouraged by Islam. Islamic Banking Products Islamic Banking products have to be done according to Islamic rules and principles, based on profit and loss sharing as well as avoiding interest. According to BNM statistics 2007, Al Bai Bithaman Ajil financing is the most common in Islamic Banking. There are a lot of Islamic Banking products; however there are some famous Islamic products that will be discussed in this section. 1. Al Bai Bithaman Ajil /BBA This involves the credit sale of goods on a deferred payment basis. In BAA, the Islamic bank will purchase certain assets on a deferred payment basis and then sell the goods back to the customer at an agreed price including some margin or profit. The customer will make payment by installments over an agreed period. A fixed rate BBA is a powerful hedging tool against interest rates (Rosly, 1999). 2. Murabahah Murabahah is a contract of sale. The Islamic Bank acts as a middle man and purchases the goods requested by the customer. The bank will later sell the goods to the customer in a sale and purchase agreement, whereby the lender re-sales to the borrower at a higher price agreed on by both parties. These are more for short term financing 3. Mudharabah According to Kettel (2006), Mudharabah is a basic principle of profit and loss, where instead of lending money at a fixed rate return, the banker forms a partnership with the borrower, thereby sharing in a ventures profit and loss. Mudharabah is an agreement between the lender and entrepreneur, whereby the lender agrees to finance the project on a profit sharing basis according to a predetermined ratio agreed by both parties concerned. If there are any losses the lender will bear all the losses. 4. Musharakah Musharakah means partnership whereby the Islamic institution provides the capital needed by the customer with the understanding that they both share the profit and loss according to a formula agreed before the business transaction is transacted. In Musharakah all partners are entitled to participate in the management of the investment but it is not compulsory. Musharakah can help in providing financing for large investments in modern economic activities 5. Al Ijarah Ijarah means meaning to give something on a rental basis. In Ijarah, the bank acquires ownership based on the promise and leases back to the client for a given period. The customer pays the rental but the ownership still remains with the bank or lender. As the ownership remains with the lessor (bank), it continues to give the service for which it was rented. Under this contract, the lessor has the right to re-negotiate the quantum of the lease payment at every agreed interval to ensure rental remains in line with the market rates (Hume, 2004). 6. Wadiah Wadiah is a trust contract and the bank provides gift (hibah) and various types of benefits to the customer. This is exactly like a normal conventional savings account. 7. Istisna Istisna allows one party buys the goods and the other party undertakes to manufacture them according to agreed specifications. Normally, Istisna is used to finance construction and manufacturing projects. 8. Salam Salam is defined as the forward purchase of specified goods with full forward payment. This contract is normally used for financing agricultural production. According to Hassan (2004), Salam based future contracts for agricultural commodities, supported by Islamic Banks, can help to overcome the agricultural financial problems Table 2.1 lists the products of conventional banking and their correspondent products in Islamic Banking. Source: Obaidullah, 2005 Financial Crisis and the Islamic Banking To be able to compete with conventional banks, Islamic banks have to offer financial products that are comparable to the ones offered by the conventional banks. This exposes the Islamic banks to similar credit, liquidity and risks driven by market instability. Despite that, Islamic banks managed to remain stable at the early phases of the crisis. That was driven by three main Factors. First, Islamic banks financing activities are strongly tied to the real economic activities than their conventional counterpart. Even though Musharakah and Mudharabah both provide better risk sharing while keeping strong link to the real sector, they are used minimally for different reasons. Most financing activities are done through Murabah and Ijarah followed by Istinsa. In the GCC and during 2007, Murabaha comprised of 65.4%, Ijarah 12.78% and Istinsa 2.83%. Both Murabaha and Ijrah transactions require the Islamic bank to know the clients purspose and use of finance as well the ownership of the asset by the bank. This help in ensuring that the funds are used for their stated purposes. On the other hand, conventional banks do not require disclosing the use of funds as long as the client is believed to creditworthy or can post suitable collateral. Second, Islamic banks avoid direct exposure to exotic and toxic financial derivative products. Since Shariah prohibits riba and gharar, the asset portfolio of Islamic banks did not include any CDOs, CMBSs, and CDSs which turned out to be highly toxic for conventional banks and amplifying factor for the crisis. These derivative products, initially used for hedging purposes, became device for highly speculative investments among conventional financial institutions. Unavailability of hedging instruments for Islamic financial institutions, which was perceived as weakness before the crisis, became a strengthening factor for them. However, exposure to other investment risks driven from equity markets, sukuk, real-estate and ownership stakes in other businesses remain a source of concern when overdone or undertaken purely for speculative gains. Third, Islamic banks in general have a larger proportion of their assets in liquid form than their conventional counterparts. This is driven by two main reasons: (1) there is no lender of last resort (LOLR) facility available to Islamic banks, and they do not have access to market liquidity in the form of the interbank market, high liquidity was maintained for risk management purpose. (2) Excess liquidity is required due to lack of interest-free short-term investment opportunities as real economic investments require some development period. As the global financial crisis became a global economic crisis, it started to affect Islamic banks in an indirect manner. The financial crisis has triggered a chain reaction whereby the slowdown in the real economies of the developed countries has started to affect economic growth and investment activities in export driven economies of the developing countries through lower trade in goods and services as well as through the declining commodity prices including that of oil. The economic downturn is not only affecting the investment and financing activities of financial institutions including those of Islamic banks, it is also reducing the funding of these banks through lower personal savings and declining corporate profits. It should be noted that most of the Islamic banking industry comprises of commercial banks whose major funding source are retail deposits, investment banking constitutes only a small portion of the industry. Islamic banks in some regions may face risk on their fina ncing and investment side of the balance sheet due to the crisis induced volatility of equity markets where these banks have large positions. Downturn in the real estate markets where these banks have large direct and indirect exposures is also another source of risk. Similarly, the changing wealth position of their high-net-worth (HNW) clients who also hold financial exposure in the hard-hit conventional financial sector of the West and therefore are now postponing any investment plans is also a factor. The relative importance of each of these factors varies by the region. For example, the banks in the GCC and particularly in the UAE are more exposed to real estate market risk, followed by risk of international equity markets. For the banks in Asia, their investments in domestic and international equity markets are a source of concern as equity markets are showing higher volatility. In some of the countries, the existing fiscal imbalance which has widened after the crisis is also a factor in the increased volatility of the markets Previous Literature The study of bank profitability is an important tool to evaluate bank operation by examining the different factors affecting bank profitability and using these factors for management planning and strategic analysis. In the last four decades, many studies have been conducted to study both bank profitability and the determinants of bank profitability either for particular country or for a panel of countries. These studies normally divide these factors into internal factors and external factors. Internal factors represent the bank-specific characteristics such as bank size, liquidity structure; liabilities†¦etc while external factors can be macroeconomic factors such as inflation and GDP growth or Country-specific regulations rules and practices. In the area of banking profitability, many studies have been conducted to investigate the profitability of conventional banks while only few were conducted in the field of Islamic banking. In this chapter, we will review these studies for conventional banking first and then will focus on studies in the Islamic banking field. Then we will cover the conceptual framework of this research. Conventional Banking Different studies have been conducted in the field of conventional banking profitability. Short (1979), Bourke (1989), Molyneux and Thornton (1992), Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004), Peters et al. (2004) are some of the researchers in the field. Short (1979) is one of the early scholars who studied the relationship between banking profit rates and concentration for sixty banks in Canada, Western Europe and Japan during the 1970s and he included independent variables including government ownership and concentration by using H index to quantify concentration. Results showed that the government ownership impact on profitability varied throughout the countries studied but expressed an overall negative relationship. He also found evidence that indicated higher concentration rates lead to higher profit rates (Short, 1979). Bourke (1989) also compared concentration to bank profitability but included other determinants. Bourke (1989) covered ninety banks in Australia, Europe, and North America between 1972 and 198 and examined different internal and external factors: internal factors such as staff expenses, capital ratio, liquidity ratio, and loans to deposit ratio; external factors such as regulation, size of economies of scale, competition, concentration, growth in market, interest rate, government ownership, and market power. His results show that increase in government ownership leads to lower profitability in banking. He also found that concentration, interest rates, and money supply are positively related to profitability along with capital and reserves of total assets as well as cash and bank deposits of total assets. Bourke adds that well capitalized banks enjoy cheaper access to sources of funds as they are less risky than less capitalized banks (Bourke, 1989). Later, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) studied the determinants of European banks profitability. The paper examined eighteen counties in Europe between 1986 and 1989. This paper replicated Bourkes (1989) work by using internal and external determinants of bank profitability. However, Molyneux and Thornton (1992) results showed that government ownership expresses a positive coefficient with return on capital (profitability) which contradicts with Bourkes findings. Other results were similar to Bourkes, showing that concentration, interest rate, and money supply were positively related to bank profitability (Molyneux and Thornton, 1992). In one of the recent papers on bank profitability on European banks, Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson (2004) shows similar findings to the paper by Molyneux and Thornton (1992). It investigates the determinants of profitability in six European countries and it covered 665 banks between 1992 and 1998. The study used cross-sectional and dynamic panel models. The variables used in the regression analysis were ROE, the logarithmic of total assets, Off Balance Sheet (OBS) dividends, Capital to Asset Ratio (CAR). The results from both models were similar: evidence reveals that there is a positive relationship between size (total assets) and profitability. Meanwhile, OBS appears to have a positive relationship with profitability for UK but neutral or negative for other European countries. Moreover, results also state that CAR has a positive relationship with profitability. Furthermore, the paper touched on ownership type by indicating that there is high competition in banking due to the fact t hat there is foreign bank involvement in domestic banks, and that profitability is not linked to ownership (Goddard, Molyneux, and Wilson, 2004). Peters et al. (2004) studied the characteristics of banks in post-war Lebanon for the years 1993 to 2000 and compared the results to a group of banks from five other countries in the Middle East including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman for the years 1995 through 1999. They used Return on Equity (ROE) measure profitability and leverage and they employed regression models that relate bank profitability ratios to various explanatory variables. This study tests the relationships between bank profitability and size, asset portfolio composition, off-balance sheet items, ownership by a foreign bank, and the ratio of employment to assets. The results show a strong association between economic growth and bank profitability, whether measured by ROE or ROA. They found that Lebanese banks are profitable, but not as profitable as a control group of banks from five other countries located in the Middle East. Islamic Banking In the area of Islamic Banking, Bashir (2000) assessed the performance of Islamic banks in eight Middle Eastern countries. He analyzed important bank characteristics that affect the performance of Islamic banks by controlling economic and financial structure measures. The paper studied fourteen Islamic banks from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates between 1993 and 1998. To examining profitability, the paper used Non Interest Margin (NIM), Before Tax Profit (BTP), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE) as performance indicators. There were also internal and external variables: internal variables were bank size, leverage, loans, short-term funding, overhead, and ownership; external variables included macroeconomic environment, regulation, and financial market. In general, results from the study confirm previous findings and show that Islamic banks profitability is positively related to equity and loans. Consequently, if loans and equity are high, Islamic banks should be more profitable. If leverage is high and loan to assets is also large, Islamic banks will be more profitable. The results also indicate that favorable macro-economic conditions help profitability (Bashir, 2000). Hassoune (2002) examined Islamic bank profitability in an interest rate cycle. In his paper, compared ROE and ROA Volatility for both Islamic and conventional banks in three GCC region, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He states that since Islamic banking is based on profit and loss sharing, managements have to generate sufficient returns for investors given that they are not willing accept no returns (Hassoune, 2002). Bashir and Hassan (2004) studied the determinants of Islamic banking profitability covers 43 Islamic Banks between 1994 and 2001 in 21 countries. Their figures show Islamic banks to have a better capital asset ratio compared to commercial banks which means that Islamic banks are well capitalized. Also, their paper used internal and external banks characteristics to determine profitability as well as economic measures, financial structure variables, and country variables. They used, Net-non Interest Margin (NIM), which is non interest income to the bank such as, bank fees, service charges and foreign exchange to identify profitability. Other profitability indicators adopted were Before Tax Profit divided by total assets (BTP/TA), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE). Results obtained by Bashir and Hassan (2004), were similar to the Bashir (2000) results, which found a positive relationship between capital and profitability but a negative relationship between loans and profitability. Bashir and Hassan also found total assets to have a negative relationship with profitability which amazingly means that smaller banks are more profitable. In addition, during an economic boom, banks profitability seems to improve because there are fewer nonperforming loans. Inflation, on the other hand, does not have any effect on Islamic bank profitability. Finally, results also indicate that overhead expenses for Islamic banks have a positive relation with profitability which means if expenses increase, profitability also increases (Bashir and Hassan, 2004). Alkassim (2005) examined the determinants of profitability in the banking sector of the GCC countries and found that asset have a negative impact on profitability of conventional banks but have a positive impact on profitability of Islamic banks. They also observed that positive impact on profitability for conventional but have a negative impact for Islamic banking. Liu and Hung (2006) examined the relationship between service quality and long-term profitability of Taiwans banks and found a positive link between branch number and long-term profitability and also proved that average salaries are detrimental to banks profit. Masood, Aktan and Chaudhary (2009) studied the co-integration and causal relationship between Return on Equity and Return on Assets for 12 banks in KSA for the period between 1999- 2007. For their research, the used time series model of ADF unit-root test, Johansen co-integration test, Granger causality test and graphical comparison model. They found that there are stable long run relationships between the two variables and that it is only a one-direction cause-effect relationship between ROE and ROA. The results show that ROE is a granger cause to ROA but ROA is not a granger cause to ROE that is ROE can affect ROA input but ROA does not affect the ROE in the Saudi Arabian Banking sector. Conceptual Framework Theoretical framework is a basic conceptual structure organized around a theory. It defines the kinds of variables that are going to be used in the analysis. In this research, the theoretical framework consists of seven independent variables that represent four aspects of the Bank Characteristics. Theses aspects are the Bank Size (Total Assets), Capital Structure (Equity and Tangible Equity), Liquidity (Loans and Liquid Assets) and Liabilities (Deposits and Overheads). Bank profitability is the dependent variable and two measures of bank profitability are used in this study, namely return on average equity (ROAE) and return on average assets (ROAA). In this section we develop the hypothesis to be examined in this research paper. Development of Hypotheses This paper attempts to test seven hypotheses. A hypothesis is a claim or assumption about the value of a population parameter. It consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible correlation between multiple phenomena. According to Becker (1995), hypothesis testing is the process of judging which of two contradictory statements is correct. Hypothesis 1: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with the total assets (ASSETS). Total Assets of a company represents its valuables including both tangible assets such as equipments and properties along with its intangible assets such as goodwill and patent. For banks, total assets include loans which are the basis for bank operations either through interest or interest-free practices. Total assets is used as a tool to measure the bank size; banks with higher total assets indicate bigger banks. Molyneux and el (2004) included total assets in their study and found a positive significant relationship between total assets and profitability. Therefore, total assets are expected to have positive relation with profitability which means that bigger banks are expected to be more profitable. Total assets are converted logarithmic to be more consistent with the other ratios Hypothesis 2: Profitability has a positive and significant relationship with equity to asset ratio (EQUITY). Total equity over total assets measures banks capital structure and adequate. It indicated bank ability to withstand losses and handle risk exposure with shareholders. Hassan and Bashir (2004) examined the relationship between EQUITY and bank profitability and found positive relationship. Therefore, EQUITY is included in this stud