Future Depositors Rate Of Return Applying Neural Network - Free Essay Example

Islamic bank has to perform good strategy which still confirm with the Islamic law in order to deliver better return to compensate depositor`s money. This paper is embarked on to identify the relative significance assigned to selection variables for depositor in maximizing their opportunity. In such case, it becomes very necessary to have a prediction of future rate of return in order to get a clear picture in making precise decision. This research used some key macroeconomic variables such as Jakarta Stock Indices (JSI), inflation rate (INFR), central bank`s interest rate certificate (INTR), exchange rate (ER), and money in circulation (MIC). Since these variables are characterized as nonlinearities time series data, Artificial Neural networks (ANN) will be employed using back propagation algorithm as learning algorithm. From observation resulted that central bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interest rate certificate (INTR) and Money In Circulation (MIC) could be used as leading indicators to face the problem with 94.95% accuracy. Rate of return in Islamic bank defines as how much money will be received by depositor from their deposit in Islamic bank for one year which is that equivalent with conventional bank`s interest rate. Using profit and loss sharing principle, the Islamic bank must share the profit or loss to depositors based on predetermined profit and loss sharing ratio. So, the amount of return will be received by depositor depends on Islamic bank`s profitability which performance is affected by macroeconomic turmoil. Figure 1 shows comparison between interest rate and rate of return of an Islamic bank in Indonesia, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri for period 2007 and 2008.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬This figure shows that rate of return of PT bank Syariah Mandiri seems so stabil compared with interest rate of Indonesian commercials and states bank. Moreover, from July 2007 to june 2008, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri provides higher return to its depositor then conventional bank. The steady expansion of Islamic banks has been the hallmark of the Muslim world financial landscape in the 1980s and 1990s. With a network that spans more than 60 countries and an asset base of more than $166 billion; Islamic banks are now playing an increasingly significant role in their respective economies (Hassan and Bashir, 2003). As the biggest Muslim country in the world, the growth of Indonesian Islamic banking industry is still far away behind Malaysia and Turkey. Indonesian Islamic bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s total asset accounted for USD 3.287 million compared with Malaysia and turkey, amounted to USD 34.543 million and USD 12.902 million, respectively.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Many researches about business cycle analysis in bank industry have been conducted but then most of them have focused on the implication of the changes of the macroeconomic variables to the banks profitability and delivering the result as recommendation to management or policy maker, especially in Islamic bank industry. [see for example, Meyer and Pifer (1970), al-Osaimy (1998), Cihak and Hesse (2008), Maximilian (2008). In contrast, this research, indeed, intends to helps depositor to understand which macroeconomic variables will significantly determine pricing of individual depositor`s rate of return in PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, the biggest Islamic bank in Indonesia and then use them to predict future rate of return. 1.1 Research Objectives The ability to predict future rate of return will enable depositors, especially individual depositors to take precautionary action to minimize their opportunity of loss. In this context, individual depositors might simply use some particular macroeconomic variables as indicator to predict the rate of return will be received, whether increase, decrease, or constant compared with previous period. 2. Literature review 2.1 Prior Methods used to Predict Business Cycle Many metholodologies have been developed on research related with business cycle analysis and prediction. Mayer and Pifer (1970) used Linear Probability Model (LPM) to predict bank failure. Al-Osaimy and Bamahramah (2004) and Cihak and Hesse (2008) used Multi Discriminant Analysis (MDA), Dewaelheyns and Hulle (2007), and Erdogan (2008), used Distributed Lag Model (DLM) and Logit. On the other hand, Kiani, Khurshid and Kasten (2006), and Hsieh, Liu and Hsieh (2006) used MDA assisted neural network to predict bankruptcy of Taiwan company. Although neural networks have demonstrated some success in this area, only a few studies, for example Al-Osaimy (1998) and Maximilian (2008) employed neural network in Islamic banking research. So, we believe conducting research in Islamic bank, might benefit from neural networks model. This research, therefore, employ the model that are considered to be highly flexible functional forms of nonlinear models to find possible predictability of Islamic ba nk`s business cycle, primarily on return generation ability in Indonesian Islamic bank by using a number of macroeconomic variables as independent variables since complex unstructured relationship among variables are often encountered in economics, Maximilian (2008).à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 2.2 Superiority of ANN method Prudence (2002) declared at least two advantages of ANN method compared with other methods for doing prediction. Firstly, they are universal approximators of function in that they can approximate whatever functional form best characterizes the time series. That means, ANN are considered to be data-driven rather than model-driven (Argyrou, 2006) because they are best suited for problems for which data is available but the underlying theoretical model is unknown (Zhang, Patuwo Hu, 1998). It makes ANN superior than other statistical methods which ANN able to deal with non linear data and multi dimensional aspect. Secondly, ANN method have been proven to be better for long term forecast horizons, but are often as good as statistical forecasting methods over shorter forecast horizons.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Atiya (2001) summarized paper of Odom and Sharda (1990) which compared forecasting power between ANN method and MDA method. ANN achieved correct classification accuracy in the range of 77.8 % to 81.5% against MDA`s accuracy were in the range of 59.3% to 70.4% for predicting bankruptcy of 128 firms using financial ratios. 3.Methodology On constructing model to answer the problem, this research used bankruptcy theory which states that probability of default of the firm is a function of macroeconomic variables such as interest rate, foreign exchange rate, growth rate, government expenses, unemployment rate, and aggregate savings (Azis and Dar, 2004). It means that the ability of the firm in generating profit is highly influenced by changes in macroeconomic condition. Using profit and loss sharing principles, the ability of Islamic bank to generate profit and share it with depositor is also influenced by macroeconomic turmoil. Since the variables used are characterized as nonlinearities time series data, ANN model will be constructed using back propagation algorithm as learning algorithm by employing Alyuda Neuro Intelligent software version 2.2 and on a Pentium IV machine under Windows XP Professional platform. 3.1 Artificial Neural Networks Model (ANN) ANN is a branch of artificial intelligence which able to solve problem especially in pattern classification and recognition. ANN benchmark their prediction with actual results and constantly revise their predictions, improving forecasting capability (Wong, 2009). ANN modeling approach is useful for forecasters, and researchers who employ it especially in problems where data is available but the data generating process and its underlying laws are unknown. Maximilian (2008) adopted this method to modeling Islamic bank credit risk in Indonesia and concluded that ANN does overcome the problem of data sufficiency that limits many forecasting methods. ANN are treated as nonlinear, nonparametric statistical methods due to which these are independent of the distributions of the underlying data generating processes (White 1989). This research employed ANN model used by Kiani et al (2006) as can be seen below in model [1] f(x) = sig [ÃŽÂ ±0+ÃŽÂ ±jsig (ÃŽÂ ²ijxi + ÃŽÂ ²0j)] + ÃŽÂ µÃƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[1] where, n is the number of hidden nodes in neural networks and k is the number of explanatory variables in the networks, sig (x) = 1/(1 + e-x ), ÃŽÂ ±j represents a vector of parameters or weight that link the hidden node to output layers unit. ÃŽÂ ²ij (i =1,., k); j=1,.., n) denotes a matrix of parameters from the input to the hidden layers units and ÃŽÂ µ is the error term. The error term ÃŽÂ µ can be made arbitrary small if sufficiently many explanatory variables are included and if n is chosen to be large enough. However, the model may over fit if n is too large in which in-sample errors can be made very small but out-of sample errors may be large. 3.2 Data This research attempts to use as much as possible of macroeconomic variables as input variables. However, considering availability of data and commonly used in Indonesian Islamic banking research area, this research uses some key macroeconomics variables which used by Maximilian (2008) such as JSI which issued monthly by Indonesia Stock Exchange (ISE), and INFR, INTR, ER and MIC which issued monthly by Indonesian Central Bank (BI). As output variables, the research used general (not special) rate of return for 1 month time deposit which issued by PT Bank Syariah Mandiri every month. These macroeconomic variables are incorporated in the model to be analyzed which one will be the most determinant in pricing individual depositor`s rate of return and then also to predict the future rate. For doing so, real monthly data for sixty months were collected from January 2004 to December 2008. This whole data set was then divided into three sets which 59 data used and 1 data as outlier (Septembe r 2008 was removed from the sample, table 1). The training set is a part of input dataset used for neural network training, i.e. for adjustment of network weights and the validation set is a part of data used to tune network topology or network parameters other than weights. The software will use validation set to calculate generalization loss and retain the best network (the network with the lowest error on validation set). Meanwhile, the test set is a part of input data set used only to test how well the neural network will perform on new data. The test set is used after the network is ready (trained), to test what errors will occur during future network application. 3.3 Analysis and Prediction Process The process of analysis and prediction can be seen in Figure 2. Each arrow connecting each node represents the information (in terms of weight) in one particular note that might influence the other node. The program puts an initial weight to each arrow which is updated during the iteration process (commonly called epoch) to arrive at the lowest prediction error of default probability as the output variable in the iteration process. The level of complexity and predictive accuracy on the model depends upon the number of nodes in the architecture, Maximilian (2008). The choice of the best neural network architecture is based on a criteria mentioned in the literature and adjusted to the case of neural networks for prediction. Simply put, the network with the best structure is the one that simultaneously fulfils all the following criteria: (1) It has the smallest training error; (2) It has the smallest test error; (3) It has the smallest difference between training and testing error and (4) It has the simplest structure. The background of using ANN in this research is that of allowing the network to map the relationships between macroeconomic variables affecting rate of return given to depositor. Once this relationship between inputs and outputs is mapped, it gives the model needed to create rate of return prediction using macroeconomic data that out of sample period which are January, February and March 2009. The accuracy will be evaluated on the basis of standard statistical measures like percentage errors, as following. Error = (Rate of Return Act) (Rate of Return Predict ) x 100% (Rate of Return Actual) for i=1,2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦., N, where N is the number of testing data points. Rate of return actual data used were also out of sample period which are January, February and March 2009. After calculating the forecast error, forecasting accuracy will be calculated as;à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Forecasting Accuracy = 100% percentage of error in forecasting 3.4 Using Alyuda Neurointelligence Argyrou, A. (2006) describes how to run Alyuda Neurointelligence to build the model`s architecture, train and then test the models. For all dataset, the input to Alyuda Neurointelligence resembles a spreadsheet. The rate of return column was set up as output or target variables and the respective variables are categorized as input variables and designated as numerical data. The data is partitioned into training, validation and testing sets (table 1). The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? column is included to facilitate the data partitioning; it is not part of the input to the models and plays no role in training or testing the neural networks. Subsequently, the input data must be pre-processed (i.e. rate of return and macroeconomic variables) to remove data anomalies, because such anomalies can degrade the neural-network performance. In this context, data anomalies fall into the following two categories: (1) missing values and (2) outliers (Alyuda Neurointelligence v. 2.2 User Manual ). In particular, missing values are values that are not known, resulting in blank cells in the input columns. Outliers are extreme values that diverge from the majority of column data. To identify outliers, the application use the following formula for every column; mean  ± standard deviation x 3.5. Consequently, for any column, a value that lies outside this range is considered to be an outlier and thereby is being removed. The next step is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalizingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? the input data to make it suitable for neural-network processing. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? essentially transforms the input data into a new representation before a neural network is trained. Bishop (1995) offers the following three reasons for input data normalization: (1) to ensure that the size of input data reflect their relative importance in determining the required output, (2) to enable the random initialization of weights before neural network training and (3) different variables may have different units of measurements, hence their typical values may differ significantly. All the input columns are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalizedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in the same way, because they all include numerical values. Alyuda provides only one method for data normalization as follows: Y= SRmin + (X à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Xmin) x SF Where: SF=(SRmaxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"SRmin)/(Xmaxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Xmin); Y=Normalized value; X=actual value of a numeric column; Xmin=minimum actual value of the column; Xmax=maximum actual value of the column; SF=scaling factor; Srmin=lower scaling range limit; Srmax=upper scaling range limit; [-1..1]=scaling range for input columns. In the next step, we define the three properties before running the application. First, the logistic activation function are selected for all the neurodes regardless of the layer on which they reside. Second, the sum of squared errors is selected to minimize the output error function This is the sum of the squared differences between the actual value and the modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s output. For completeness, we restate that the neural network output falls in the range from 0 to 1 or from 0 to 100%, because of the logistic activation function. Furthermore, we run the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“exhaustive searchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? to select the best possible architecture for the models. This process takes considerable time because it searches for the best network architecture among all possible alternatives in the specified range. Alyuda choose the best architecture for the model which is 7-17-1 that consists of one hidden layer with seventeen neurodes. In addition, the model has 5 active neurons and 2 neurons as date which plays no role in training or testing the neural networks. The output layerà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ Olà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °has a single neurode representing the modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s numeric output. In the pen-ultimate step, the model is trained with specific condition. The learning law is the backpropagation algorithm and both the learning and momentum rates are set at 0.1. The training stops when the model`s mean squared error reduces by less than 0.000001 or the model completes 20,000 iterations, whichever condition occurs first. All network`s parameters can be seen in the table 2 below.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Then, the model is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“testedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? against the testing set, resulting in their respective ex-ante prediction results. Alyuda Neurointelligence presents the results from the training and testing processes in the form of classification matrices. Finally, using out of sample data, we querying prediction of target variables from out of sample period which will be tested with actual rate of return of January, February and March 2009 to measure the model`s accuracy. 4. Results and Discussion The contribution factor resulted from the network shows that the INTR and MIC ranked first and second on determination of depositor`s rate of return in PT Bank Syariah Mandiri. INFR, JSI and EXR ranked third, fourth, and fifth (table 3). The significant macroeoconomics variables resulted (INTR and MIC) are similar with condition of Islamic bank in other countries such as Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. It is reported by Ahmad and Haron (1998) which explained that interest rate and money in circulation had a significant relationship with Islamic bank`s return on capital. It means that both macroeconomic variables give significant impact on delivering return to Islamic bank`s depositor. The results of applying neural network model to do prediction based on those five variables show in general very good (table 4). The trained network was applied to the training data set and showed that its quality is outperform thorough value of Absolute Error (AE) and Absolute Relative Error (ARE). The most generally used characteristics of continuous values are RMSE (root mean squared error), AE and ARE. RMSE and AE are absolute (independent of the output value module), ARE is relative. All these values define the deviation of the predicted output value from the desired one. ARE is an error value that indicates the quality of the neural network training. This index is calculated by dividing the difference between actual and desired output values by the module of the desired output value. The smaller the network error is, the better the network had been trained.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Table 5 shows the actual values of out of sample period used to query prediction result from the ANN model. Network provided 99.17% accuracy in predicting RR of January 2009.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬The results were slightly decreasing when predicting February 2009 and March 2009 which are 92.79% and 92.88%, respectively. That prediction resulted from actual variables which out of period sample in this followi ng table 6. Nevertheless, this network give satisfactory result for RR prediction of three months upcoming period for 94.95% accuracy in average. 5. Conclusion In this paper, we have specified an empirical framework to investigate macroeconomic determinants of Pricing Individual Depositor`s Rate of Return in PT Bank Syariah Mandiri. Based on the results of the empirical analysis, interest rates certificate of central bank of Indonesia and money in circulation significantly determine pricing individual depositor`s rate of return. By implication, these variables can be used by depositor as leading indicator to predict future rate of return. Therefore, in order to maximize their profit opportunity, depositor should pay considerable attention to these macroeconomic indicators. It should be considered that this paper is limited in one particular bank even though the bank is the biggest Islamic bank in Indonesia, so this result might be different when it is implemented in other Islamic bank. Through the continuous adoption and application of neural networks, this research, at least has fulfilled its primary aim of providing an indicator based to build understanding to depositor about the nature of Islamic banking which offers profit and loss sharing principles that create investment relationship. This research also indicates that an Islamic bank is not stand alone bank since economic turmoil strongly influenced its profitability.

Bisclavret Marie de Frances Manipulation and Why We Hate the Wife - Literature Essay Samples

Bisclavret is the only lai of Marie de France’s that deals with a couple falling out of love (Creamer 259). The lycanthropic theme is used by the poet as a test of love and respect for one’s husband, as the baron’s wife doesn’t approve of his lupine nature. The central issue seen throughout is the baron’s wife’s refusal to accept and understand. The wife’s situation and power is slowly degraded from the very beginning in the interrogation scene (he was honest, yet she didn’t respect that), and to the very end when she becomes a vanished criminal. Marie de France builds off this story with an aim in deteriorating the wife and defaming her presence by making her disloyal and not accepting of her husband’s nature. From the way she writes the verses, and the wife’s absence for the majority of the poem, it is clear that Marie de France’s goal is for the reader to dislike the wife. â€Å"Marie creates an insidio us woman-hating universe in her text.† (Creamer 259). Betrayal is one of the first themes we encounter with Bisclavret, one that remains the reason for the baron’s misfortune. The wife’s first betrayal derives from simple trickery, she asks him whether he goes dressed or nude (when in werewolf form), also a form of foreshadowing for her ongoing query. The location of his clothing signifies her next betrayal. She now knows of the location. To the husband, the revealing doesn’t appear as dangerous, as it is coming from an honest place. â€Å"We readers are to understand that her husband’s revelation of his humiliating secret should have been sufficient† (Creamer 265). In addition to the context of the story, Marie de France’s stylistic choices reveal her disdain for the wife. In the entire story we can see that the baron is genuine and down to earth, while his wife is manipulative and even commits adultery. The description of the wife i s one fifth the length of the werewolf and one third of that of the baron. This demonstrates the sneaky and unfaithful nature of the wife by the narrator (Creamer 264). The description of the wife is only two verses long (in the actual poem). This demonstrates that she isn’t very important in the story, not only that, but that she is negligible. Very slowly she starts becoming more and more disparaged by the narrator. Marie’s way of writing unveils the scenario for us, the way she writes the verses and the style in which she phrases the narrative. â€Å"All his love was set on her, and all her love was given again to him. One only grief had this lady†. We know something bad is in the surface, as both wife and baron are introduced as almost perfect for one another, and with her grief we can see what might occurred. This line indicates that things will no longer be as mentioned in the beginning. â€Å"Verse 62 ‘he hid nothing from her’ and again in verse 67 ‘he had told her everything’ (in the actual poem) -these two verses are another hint of the narrator abandoning objectivity by choosing the husband over the wife† (Creamer 264). From the commencement of the story we are aware that the werewolf is harmless. He goes out in the deep woods and does nothing but hunt (for animals, not man) and wander around in solitude. He cannot really hurt anyone. The wife should not have a reason to be wary around him. They have been married for some time and he has yet to frighten her. This makes the wife even more loathsome to the reader, as she knows that he will not harm her, as he has not done so, and when answering her questions he delivers humbling and sincere answers. â€Å"He is not a man eater and so is not a danger to his wife, especially when coupled with the baron’s claim that the creature does not venture out from the depths of the forest† (Creamer 265). This, however, doesn’t dictate the baron’s only example of his harmless nature. When lost in the depths of the woods for almost a year, the baron encounters a pack. The king and his men discover him when hunting in the woods. Very intimidated and afraid by this creature, the king wants him gone. The werewolf pleads for his life and reveals his clever side to the king. The king brings him along to his castle, as the men and himself noticed that the werewolf wasn’t harmful, but rather kind and frank. He shows no sings of violence and even sleeps alongside the kings royal entourage. We can see once more that the baron’s claims in the beginning are sincere. He does nothing but roam the woods and hunt for animals, a practice that even humans, not just werewolves, perform. The king and his men serve as a perfect illustration of how the baron would have been harmless to his wife. â€Å"That the men eagerly sleep alongside the werewolf is a tactic job from Marie at the intolerant wife, who categoricall y refuses to lie with her lycanthropic husband† (Creamer 166). This underscores the gentle nature of the werewolf. It is another way for Marie to abase the wife. Marie de France creates this woman hating universe, step by step in her stylistic choice of writing. We are allowed to see how she degrades the wife more and more throughout the story. The wife’s final betrayal is committed when she decides to marry another man after her husband leaves, a man whom she does not truly love. After almost a year of being out of the picture, the baron returns to his human form with the help of the king. He meets his wife again, only to confront her about her grand betrayal and ending with a violent note by tearing her nose off as a form of revenge. â€Å"Marie suggests that the violence committed in this lay is intellectual in nature: the wife refuses to rationalize or compartmentalize her husband’s condition† (Creamer 266). The last form in which the wife is degraded by Marie de France is when the king banishes her (along with her now husband), due to the corruptness she had caused her now ex-husband. The wife and her new husband end up having a few daughters, which are all born without noses. As Creamer concludes, â€Å"Bisclavret ends with forward looking glance at how one woman’s treachery would later impact the lives of several future generations of woman. Like Eve before her, this woman’s lack of obedience dooms her† (266). Works Cited Creamer, P. Woman-Hating in Marie De Frances Bisclavret. ROMANIC REVIEW 93 (2002): 259-74. Print.

College Essay Topics

College Essay TopicsThe worst subjects to put in your worst college essay topics could be named in the following order; race, ethnicity, gender, skin color, cultural background, religious beliefs, religion, poverty, political beliefs, age, and even more complex topics such as politics, economics, politics, philanthropy, business, romance, mathematics, philosophy, science, computer science, art, sports, and computers. If you want to avoid making this list, or if you can mix-and-match other subjects, you will not only save your job, but you will be rewarded with a massive grade boost! That is how much you will find out by writing an essay, and the ways in which the more complex a subject is, the more comprehensible it will be for the reader.When it comes to writing a thesis statement, such as, 'Blacks are less intelligent than whites,' or 'Women are better than men,' there is only one conclusion to be drawn. You will be required to provide some evidence that a thesis statement is true, and without such evidence, you will not be able to claim it's true.One easy method is to relate the fact that most of the world's great scientists, actors, artists, and inventors are men. Thus, anyone saying that women are not the best at anything, and that there are no great female scientists and writers or artists, is forced to support this point. They can argue that female scientists and writers are not at the same level as male scientists and writers, but they cannot prove it. Thus, if they quote a famous scientist and writer, they have to justify why he or she was not a woman.But many people, of all social races, groups, or races have become famous. They are categorized in another category, the Social Races. Only men and other men of a certain race are in the Social Races. Only women and other women of a certain race are in the Social Races.This category of people will get into outstanding jobs. It's just like the race of kings and emperors. If it were a man's kingdom and it w as ruled by a woman, no one would disagree. The reason is because most of the famous people of history are those who are in the Social Races.If you have good English grammar, you can come up with any great statements that you want to put in your essay. Writing in a particular subject will not hurt you at all. However, if you fail to write in a way that will make your readers believe in your ideas, then you have taken the place of the poor ignorant creature who couldn't write for himself.When you are trying to get a college essay topics about race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and more complex topics, you will discover that you will have to choose subjects that are more common and understandable. Write your best topic on each subject and always try to relate them in a way that makes them understandable.

The Crucible And Salem Witch Trials Similarities - 790 Words

Leah Zafir Mrs. Ephrati American History 12 December 2017 Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthy Era The United States of America is filled with many historic events, enriching its history. Many events that occur are compared to past events in our history. In particular, the McCarthy Era in the 1950’s was compared to the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in 1692. This correlation was first made by Arthur Miller who wrote the play â€Å"The Crucible†. He connected the time period of McCarthy to where there was a hunt for communists, to the Salem Witch Trials where there was a hunt for witches. Following that, many comparisons and contrasts have been made between the two. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthy Era are both similar, yet different.†¦show more content†¦This led to the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials, in which more and more community members were accused. Nineteen people were hung, and two dogs were killed. Giles Corey was pressed to death with stones upon refusing to testify Most people were accused using s pectral evidence, which is evidence based on dreams or visions. The trials were put to an end when Governor Phips own wife was accused, and he made spectral evidence illegal. (Ushistory.com) (Wallenfeldt) The Salem Witch Trial had many effects. First, the colony had neglected their crops and homes, and suffered from scarce food and higher taxes. Also, the law required that you had to pay for your board and food before leaving the prison. Many people were stuck in the prisons, since they could not afford to pay for their release. (Sutter) Additionally, on January 14, 1692 a fast day with prayers was declared in Salem over the great tragedy. Many people publicly confessed their guiltiness, such as Judge Samuel Sewall. It was only in the year 1957, that the state of Massachusetts properly made an apology. However, the lasting legacy of the trial still lives on. (Wallenfeldt) The McCarthy Era in the 1950’s, was a time in American history when Senator Joseph McCarthy began accusing people of being part of the communist party. After WWII, the United States enemy was no longer Japan and Russia, but there alliesShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between The Crucible And Salem Witch Trials1 079 Words   |  5 Pages The Crucible is a play that explains the story the Salem Witch trials. Arthur Miller, is the author of this play. McCarthyism played a big role in the creation of The Crucible. Many differences and similarities were drawn between the play and the Red Scare. The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never happen again. People look back on these times and are surprised at how terrible the times were. Yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. 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I believe that Arthur Miller s life and his experience of McCarthyism strongly influenced the writing of The Crucible. McCarthyism, named after Joseph McCarthy was a period of intense anti-communism, which occurred in the United States from 1948 to about 1956. During this time the government of the United States persecuted the Communist party USA, its leadership, and many others suspectedRead More McCarthyism and The Crucible contain many similarities and differences772 Words   |  4 PagesMcCarthyism and The Crucible contain many similarities and differences in their persecution and accusation of people who are identified as criminals of their societies. McCarthyism and The Crucible contain many similarities and differences in their persecution and accusation of people who are identified as criminals of their societies. Both events in history contain extremely similar circumstances, including the accusation of one person leading to a mass hysteria enveloping a society toRead MoreTerror Of A Mass Hysteria Hoax1082 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the sixteenth century, witch trials caused the deaths of thousands as chaos spread throughout Europe. Many European villages in history have witnessed witch executions and the imprisonment of suspected witches. The Crucible, along with the Salem Witch Trials and the European witch trials, have many similarities and differences that make them both memorable and important. The Salem Witch Trials lasted from, roughly, February 1692 to May of 1963. The trials in Salem were started by a group ofRead MoreThe Witch Hunt in The Crucible and During the Time of McCarthyism1356 Words   |  6 Pages In this essay, I intend to analyse the historical context of The Crucible and its relevance in today’s society. I believe that Arthur Miller’s life and his experience of McCarthyism strongly influenced the writing of The Crucible. McCarthyism, named after Joseph McCarthy was a period of intense anti-communism, which occurred in the United States from 1948 to about 1956. During this time the government of the United States persecuted the Communist party USA, its leadership, and many others suspectedRead Morethe crucible vs real life766 Words   |  4 PagesLearning From the Past The Salem Witch Trials were an extremely controversial period of time in our history. This was a time of suspicion and accusation of many innocent women and men that led to hysteria and complete turmoil in Salem Village. The Crucible portrays the Salem Witch Trials in a dramatic sense, but there are many similarities between the movie and the actual events. We can use these unusual events to compare to our own lives and learn from the mistakes of our past. I’ve found thatRead MoreCommunism And Communism In Arthur Millers The Crucible711 Words   |  3 Pagestitled â€Å"The Crucible†. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s inspired the notable play. Consequently, after the hearing, McCarthyism became a vociferous campaign carried out by Senator Joseph McCarthy, which accused people of communism. To declare, Miller uses an analogy using the events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1693 to expose the ugly truth behind communism and McCarthyism. To begin, the word crucible derived from the Latin root word â€Å"crux† means cross. In explanation, a crucible is a severe

Essay on The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men - 1134 Words

The Great Gatsby has been one of the classic novels of the twentieth century. It creates a unique society that makes the story such a masterpiece. Another magnificent work that relates to The Great Gatsby is T.S. Eliots The Hollow Man.; The lines in the poem portray the story so vividly that it should have been an epigraph for the novel. The poems references to hollow and stuffed men, can describe different characters in The Great Gatsby. The hollowness of men represents ruthless barbarians with no respect for humans and no understanding of love. However, the stuffed men seem to be educated, wealthy, and respectful. The differences in these types of men can be seen through the events of the novel. Another aspect of the poem that†¦show more content†¦However, she is also revolting and doesnt understand the concept of love. At one point in the novel she gets frustrated and says to Jay Oh you want too much, I love you now, isnt that enough?(139); This shows the emptiness in her heart and the depression of her life. Daisy really has a low self-esteem and even with her possessions, she is still a disheartened lady with no motive in her life. In addition, Daisys hollow character eventually leads to her mental break-down and ultimately conveys her love to Tom. This occurs when she runs over Myrtle and kills her without even looking back. Daisy then destroys Jays love and never acknowledges his death. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another similarity between the works is the idea of the stuffed men mentioned in the poem. There are two characters in the novel that carry this trait. Jay Gatsbys classy demeanor and restrained behavior show what good quality he is made of. Another trait he carries is his love for others such as Daisy and Nick. Even though he loves them as stepping stones to reach his goals, he has the decency to respect their goals in life. His persona and character is best summed up by Nick in the beginning of the novel. He stated: There was something gorgeous about him that heightened the sensitivities to the promises of life.(6); Another stuffed character is George Wilson. Even though he committed suicide and had a depressed life, he stillShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream In The Great Gatsby Essay942 Words   |  4 Pagesfor the same if not identical reasons. The great Gatsby shows us that â€Å"the tide turning east† as some would say, as people run to where d reams come true the city of New York looking for stuff they could sell like stocks etc. for fortunes. The great Gatsby shows this point in time as a symbol of the American Dreams slow corruption. Its now not a vision of building a new life or a better life its almost always about obtaining the most wealthy. Gatsby represents both the corrupted American DreamRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby937 Words   |  4 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, depicts the characters Gatsby and Daisy as symbols of the American Dream. Those who long to be at the top of the social ladder are evidence of the greedy scramble of wealth. Although Gatsby falsifies the original story of his climb to the top, this rags to riches endeavor is the pillar on which the American dream stands which gives him a mysterious yet interesting persona. Gatsby embodies Jack Solomon’s premise, in â€Å"Masters of Desire: The Culture ofRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1519 Words   |  7 Pagesto develop the whole plot. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbols in this book. Among all those symbols in it, the symbol of the green light is the strongest, due to the changes of meaning in the book and leading the plot. However, each symbolic imagery is not unique, they interact with each other. This essay will argue that, with the help of other symbols, the symbol of green light becomes the crucial symbol for us to understand The Great Gatsby. Besides, this essay will discuss theRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2182 Words   |  9 Pagesthe reader in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925, the novel tells the story of a cast of socialites in there 20s and early 30s in the fictional town of West Egg, Long Island. Narrated by a character named Nick Carraway, who provides insightful descriptions of the men and women he finds himself surrounded by after moving out East from the Midwest. The novel primarily focuses on the mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby has seemingly unlimited wealth, lives in a spectacularRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Research Paper1217 Words   |  5 Pagescome from different economic backgrounds. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald successfully uses locati on to differentiate social status amongst his characters while the weather and seasons of those locations help guide them.   Ã‚  Each character helps represent and support the differences of social class and the four main locations, The East Egg, the West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and New York City. In The Great Gatsby geographical locations separate social classes. East Egg representsRead MoreDreaming the Dream in The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men1194 Words   |  5 Pagesdetermination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream itself through the useRead MoreThe Great Gatsby, the Perverse American Dream Essay795 Words   |  4 Pagesin The United States of America. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to the concept of The American Dream in a time just after World War 1 and he achieves this through many charact ers and the environment in which they live and interact in. The main character of the novel has often been characterized as a clear representation of The American Dream, which is a false statement for many concrete rationales. The fact that Gatsby accumulated his wealth from the bootlegging of alcoholRead MoreThe great Gatsby is too concerned with conveying a picture of 1920’s American society to have relevance to modern readers.1129 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿The great Gatsby is too concerned with conveying a picture of 1920’s American society to have relevance to modern readers. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel and relevant contextual information on both today’s society and society in the 1920’s, give your response to the above view.† As a heavily contextual literary piece, the great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of modern American literature of all time. The book as achievedRead MoreThe Yin And Yang Theory Intertwined With The Great Gatsby1402 Words   |  6 PagesIntertwined with The Great Gatsby The novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘The Great Gatsby’ is one of the greatest novels of all time. â€Å"The novel exposes the hollow values of the Jazz Age, with its economic and social corruptions. It also turns on its ear the particularly American myth of the self-made man who achieves success through his integrity and plain hard work† (F. Scott Fitzgerald). This novel shows the effects that wealth can have which ultimately leads to the downfall of Gatsby. All the elementsRead MoreThe Great Gatsby : Wealth And Happiness1291 Words   |  6 Pagesphilosopher named Democritus once said, â€Å"Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.† Throughout the ages, wealth and riches have always seemed to catch the eyes of men. Numerous people believe even today that money is the source of happiness. As seen in The Great Gatsby, wealth and happiness are two major themes portrayed over and over again by Fitzgerald’s charac ters. Many of the characters in the story gain wealth believing that with riches, they can soon gain happiness

How the Forest and Court Are Shown in As You Like It

As You Like It is set in a forest, but it is difficult to be clear about the As You Like It setting. Some argue that it is the Forest of Arden that once surrounded Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon; others believe that the As You Like It setting is in Ardennes, France. Forest vs. Court The forest is presented in a more favorable light in that the â€Å"goodies†, Duke Senior and his court, reside there. All of the good characters in the court are banished or exiled to the forest at the start of the play. Duke Senior describes the court as â€Å"painted pomp†¦the envious court†. He goes on to say that in the forest the dangers are real but natural and are preferable to those in the court â€Å"The †¦churlish chiding of the winter’s wind†¦ even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say This is no flattery† (Act 2, Scene 1). He suggests the harsh conditions of the forest are preferable to the pomp and false flattery in the court: That at least in the forest, things are honest. This could be compared to the courtly love between Orlando and Rosalind and the bawdy, primitive but honest love between Touchstone and Audrey. There are also reflections of Robin Hood and his merry men in the lives of Duke Senior and his supporters: â€Å"†¦there they live like the old Robin Hood of England† (Charles; Act 1, Scene 1). This reinforces the positive depiction of the forest as opposed to the negative portrayal of the court. When the evil characters enter the forest they have a sudden change of heart as discussed – suggesting the forest has healing properties. There is, therefore, a sense of foreboding at the end of the play when the characters are to be restored to the court†¦we hope that they will bring some of the natural qualities of forest life with them when they return. In this, Shakespeare may be suggesting that there needs to be a balance between forest and court; living with nature and using your senses should be balanced with living in an ordered, political world where education and social politeness is necessary. If one is too close to nature they may turn out like Touchstone and Audrey but if they are too political, they may become more like Duke Frederick. Duke Senior has struck a happy balance – being educated and gentlemanly having the ability to manage people but also appreciating nature and its offerings. Class and Social Structures The struggle between forest and court also sheds light on the class struggle at the core of the play. Celia disguises her nobility to become a poor woman,  Aliena, in the forest. She does this in order to protect herself, presumably from those who would try and steal from her. This gives her freedom she has never enjoyed. Oliver falls for her dressed as Aliena and we know as a result, that his motives are honorable – he is not after her money. This is important in that previously, Oliver’s motives have been questionable. Touchstone and Audrey are seen as more lowly characters but as discussed, are possibly perceived as more honest as a result, they are unable to social climb and therefore don’t need to flatter and lie their way to the top. Duke Senior is happier in the forest without the trappings of his dukedom. Shakespeare may be suggesting that just because you are considered to be ‘high class’ it is not necessarily reflected in your nature – or that in order to social climb one needs to lie and flatter and therefore people at the top of society are the worst kind of people. However, at the end of the play when the Duke is restored to the court we are led to believe that the court will be a better place, perhaps because he has witnessed firsthand what it is like to be poor. He is compared to Robin Hood and as such is considered ‘of the people.’

Sleep Deprivation and Reduction, Sleep Disorders, and the...

It is important for everyone to get enough sleep, but many people often ignore it. If people do not get enough sleep they may experience sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can have negative effects. When people do not get enough sleep or less, they may feel crabby and unable to function as well as they usually do the next day. Balancing work and parenting as a single parent in today’s society is tough. Juggling children, work, taking care of home, and cart the children to extracurricular activities are a lot for one’s plate. As single parent I had my share of sleepless nights as well, mostly when either my children fall sick or when I work extra shift at work. The last time I remember when I had a sleepless night was when both of these†¦show more content†¦When talking to the doctor he had to constantly repeat himself because I couldn’t keep up with what he was saying or I had forgotten what he had said. Driving back home I couldn’t concentrate on the road and it had got to the point that I had nod off while driving. After the long day at the doctor’s office and the trip to the drug store my daughter was tried that gave me the opportunity to take nap. After the nap I felt more like myself, even though my daughter was still ill. Sleep deprivation has negative effect on one’s mood, cognitive function, motor performance, and physiological function. (Pinel, 2007). A person may experience three consistent effects if they receive 3 or 4 hours of sleep in one night (Pinel, 2007). First consistent effect, a person may experience increase in sleepiness. If given the opportunity they may fall asleep quickly (Pinel, 2007). Second consistent effect, a person may display mood swings. And third, a person’s performance may be poorly. Insomnia is a common sleep disorders that prevent a person from getting restful sleep. Insomnia is a sleep disorder of difficulty falling asleep or waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep (Pinel, 2007). People who suffer with this sleeping disorder may sleep 6 hours or more a night, but they believe that they should sleep more (Pinel, 2007). Doctors will prescribe drugs for a patient suffering from insomnia sleep disorder. Some drugs that can be usedShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On Sleep Deprivation1610 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: Sleep is as essential to the human body as food and water, but sometimes sleep quality and quantity is inadequate and this is known as sleep deprivation (SD). Sleep deprived people are sleepy and fatigued making them prone to accidents, impairing their judgement and they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions. Not sleeping for 24 hours reduces hand-to-eye coordination, which can be compared to having a blood alcohol content of 0.1 and contributes to road accidents and workRead MoreDepression : A Serious Medical Condition1538 Words   |  7 Pagesleft untreated. There are many different forms of depression. One type of depression is major depression, this affects one’s ability to sleep, work, eat, play, or to appreciate life. Major depression usually only occurs once in a person’s life, but there are a few cases where the illness comes back. Another type of depression is called Persistent depressive disorder and this lasts for at least 2 years. There can be a mixture of major depression, and some episodes of minor symptoms. Psychotic depressionRead MoreCognitive Behavior Therapy From Classical Conditioning And Instrumental Conditioning ( Operant Conditioning )1519 Words   |  7 Pagestook me into many different directions, all of them were very interesting and fascinating to say the least. Cognitive Behavior therapy was initiated in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Aaron T. Beck, MD (Beck, 2011). The origin of cognitive behavior therapy stems from classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning (operant conditioning) (Craske, 2010). The topics will be on the treatment of anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Cognitive BehaviorRead MoreThe Addiction Of Methamphetamine Among Juvenile Essay1659 Words   |  7 Pagesoften used for medication purposes in the 1950’s and 1960’s to treat symptoms of depression and obesity. Durell, Kroutil, Crits-Christoph, Barchha, and Van Brunt (2008), also stated that illicit methamphetamine use is a public health concern in the United States with an increase use among teens and young adults in the 1990s. The Mental Health Services Administration conducted a national survey on meth use in the United States and found that currently as least a half a million of Americans used orRead MoreMindfulness And Its Types Of Mindfulness1737 Words   |  7 PagesMindfulness has had a lot of thriving attention in recent years and it’s roots grew in Eastern religious traditions. Buddhism has focused on improving high states of mental well being, in conjunction with selecting psychological problems and dealing with them. It is recurrently associated w ith the set practice of mindfulness medication and more importantly has been named as the ‘heart’ of Buddhist meditation (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Thera, 1962). Mindfulness, is much more than this and is all about achievingRead More Insomnia and Cognitive Behavior Therapy Essay examples2512 Words   |  11 PagesDissimilarities in variables used for measurement sleep-onset time, time asleep, and time awake by some, sleepiness, irritability, or other impairment of daytime function by others, make difficult comparisons between studies. The insomnia treatments for which there is confirmation of efficacy include sleep restriction, in which the patient is instructed to remain in bed only as long as he is actually sleeping, stimulus control no activities in the bedroom except sleep and sex, and a variety of relaxationRead MoreAp Psychology Review Packet12425 Words   |  50 PagesAcquisition:  the initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. 8.Action Potential:  a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. 9.Activation Synthesis:  theory that REM sleep triggers neural firing that evokes random images, which our sleep brain weaves into stories. 10.Adaptation Level Phenomenon:  tendency to form judgements relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience. 11.Adrenal Glands:  a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above theRead MoreEssay on Caring for a Person With Dementia2027 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction Dementia is an umbrella term used to explain the gradual decline in multiple areas of functions, which includes thinking, perception, communication, memory, languages, reasoning, and the ability to function (Harrison-Dening 2013). Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases. (Alzheimers society 2014). The complexity of dementia presents aRead MoreThe Obesity Means Excess Body Fat Essay5796 Words   |  24 PagesObesity means excess body fat, BMI is reasonably accurate method for predicting adiposity and can be easily used as screening tool (Rome, 2011). The definition of pediatric obesity is not usually easy. Because directly measuring body fat is difficult and time consuming, the measurement of BMI is most commonly used. However, BMI does not always accurately reflect body composition. For example, athletes with high muscle mass and an extremely low body fat may have obese BMIs. The use ofRead MorePerceived Stress Levels and Stress Management Among Paramedical Students Lyceum of the Philippines University: Towards Stress Management Enhancement15005 Words   |  61 Pagesconcern of college students following fitness. Very little research has been done to find out what college students are doing about these high levels of stress. An equally modest amount of research has been done to learn how effective are the techniques used by college students to reduce stress levels. Stress on college campuses is high, but students may not be aware of more effective ways to reduce stress. For example, in a recent review of literature o f substance use and abuse (Prendergast, 2004) reported