The Ineffective Use of Capital Punishment - 1445 Words

â€Å" An eye for an eye leaves us all blind doesn’t it â€Å". Capital punishment cost the United states a lot of money. The death penalty can be unfair and can cause innocent lives to be took. The death penalty should be abolished because it is an ineffective way of punishment. There are trials that are unjust and many innocent people that have been killed. Putting people to death cost more than sending people to jail for the rest of their lives. Capital punishment doesn’t affect change. Capital Punishment is the legal authorization for killing someone who committed a crime. The first date for which the death penalty first started goes back as far as Eighteenth century B.C, Fourteenth Century B.C.s Hittite Code, and the Seventh Century B.C.s†¦show more content†¦There are many factors that lead to wrongful convictions such as, racial prejudice, â€Å"snitch† testimony, community and political pressure to solve a case and police misconduct to name a few (amnestyusa.org). Another reason for wrongful convictions some people don’t have or can not afford good legal representation. Race is also a huge factor, a study from University of North Carolina found that if a victim was white then the odds of getting the death penalty increased three and half times (aclu.org). A professor from the University of Iowa found in 1980’s prosecutors in Georgia sought the death penalty for 70% of black defendants and only 15% of white defendants (aclu.org). There are many people who have been convicted with either false evidence or circumstantial evidence. In 25% of innocent cases confessions that are made by people may be false. In 1990 state crime lab analyst said blood was splattered from the wall to the ceiling of the hotel room of patricia jennings.(http://nccadp.org).The crime committed was so brutal that the jury thinks she deserved the death penalty. An audit leaked that the State Crime Law was presenting false blood evidence at trials.(http://nccadp.org).Many people were wrongly convicted for this action. The State had hidden the fact that the spots on the ceiling had tested a negative on the blood that was found. After her lawyer found out about the law he asked for more information from the SBI. In theShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment Of The United States961 Words   |  4 Pages Capital Punishment in the United States For centuries, capital punishment has been used as a consequence of capital crime. Criminals who have committed such crimes are subject to facing the death penalty. Pickens shares, â€Å"Capital crimes are considered to be treason or terrorist attacks against the government, crimes against property when life is threatened, and crimes against a person that may include murder, assault, and robberyRead MoreWhy the Death Penalty is Ineffective1552 Words   |  6 Pages Why the Death Penalty is Ineffective The society constantly tries to reason with an effective way to respond to violence. Differences in opinion on the use of death as punishment arise from differences in religious, ethical, cultural, and morale perspectives. The role of death as a punishment for an offence has not been solved today, and remains a dilemma for the citizenrys political, legal, social, and religious thought. This is because an answer to the question is the death penalty effectiveRead MoreJustice And Punishment In Truman Capotes In Cold Blood976 Words   |  4 Pagesthe case. These people face harsh punishments that only cause worse actions in the future. The theme of justice and punishment is explored by Truman Capote in the book In Cold Blood. The two criminals, Dick and Perry, are challenged by society on if they should be imprisoned or if they should be free. In Capote’s work, the use of syntax, diction, and a variety of details portray the current system of punishment as cruel and ineffective in providing justice. The use of syntax helps describe the treatmentRead MoreDeath Penalty for Murders1634 Words   |  6 Pagessevere punishment in the United States. People who have performed heinous crimes can be sentenced to capital punishment in some states; however, this type of chastisement is rarely performed. Capital punishment has more negative aspects than it has positive. The states that have legalized the death penalty face the excessive costs associated with it, which can be damaging to their economies. In addition, there is always the chance of executing an innocent person when carrying out capital punishmentRead MoreThe Truth About The Death Penalty973 Words   |  4 Pagesthe death penalty should be abolished in all fifty states due to the fact that it is ineffective and very expensive. Kolodny believes that capital punishment has too many complications and variables that cause it be more of an issue than a real solution for capital offenses. She proposes that the death penalty should be dropped and exchanged for better programs such as Proposition 34, which replaces capital punishment for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kolodny’s factualRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Capital Punishment1689 Words   |  7 Pages Abstract Capital punishment is the execution of criminals for the crimes they committed. This paper explores three reasons as to why capital punishment is wrong and should be abolished. One downfall to capital punishment includes the risk of taking an innocent life such as Cameron Todd Willingham who was wrongfully convicted in 1992 and executed in 2004. There is also a risk of having a botched execution. A mistake might be made during the procedure, making it long and painful for the prisonersRead MoreIntroduction Of The Death Penalty Debate1523 Words   |  7 Pages(Banner, 2002, p.118). Individuals who have committed crimes serve their sentences and punishments, or are â€Å"treated†, in prisons. Prisons offer a state of confinement for criminals, all of whom must undergo a proper and humane punishment in a reasonable amount of time for the crimes in which they have committed. There are times, however, where capital punishment takes place and the criminal faces death as their punis hment for the crime. When criminals are faced with the death penalty, controversy arisesRead MoreCapital Punishment Is Cruel And Unusual1092 Words   |  5 Pagespeople believe that capital punishment is cruel and unusual. It is the only punishment that can truly compensate the loss of a loved one. In recent years, the rate of serious crimes has increased. The increase of crime is the result of less effective punishment. Dating back to early civilizations, capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, was viewed as an effective punishment. Yet today’s society it is viewed as cruel and inhumane. I believe that capital punishment should be executedRead MoreTaking a Look at the Death Penalty1195 Words   |  5 Pagescontinue to use the death penalty as a punishment for heinous crimes? Currently, this turbulent topic continues to be argued. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are already eighteen states that have abolished this archaic form of justice. Our society is moving towards a time and place where the death penalty is no longer an acceptable form of punishment. The use of the death sentence should be abolished from the justice system. The death sentence is an ineffective form of punishmentRead MoreCapital Punishment Is A Form Of Torture97 1 Words   |  4 PagesCapital punishment is nothing new; executions have taken place for centuries. Capital punishment is utilized throughout the world. Thirty-six countries currently use the death penalty in law and practice. One hundred and three countries have abolished the death penalty completely. Whereas, six countries currently retain the death penalty for special circumstances, such as war crimes (CIA World Factbook). Whether capital punishment is an effective measure to curb future violent crimes is still debated

The Death Penalty Is Inhumane - 1441 Words

Death row inmates around the world are held in appalling conditions: the cells are not suitable for a human being; the dietary regime is inadequate; and access to medical care is difficult. â€Å"Not only are inmates placed in physically cruel and unusual circumstances, but their mind is also greatly affected by their situation, with many death row inmates suffering from mental illness and mental disabilities as a result of their death sentence,† stresses the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. â€Å"The effects of murder cannot be erased by more killing, and the death system prolongs the suffering of victims’ families. It inflicts more pain on families of those on death row, and it is inefficient as it has never shown that it deters†¦show more content†¦If any one wants to appeal then it becomes a burdensome process for him often resulting in denial of justice. 4. Lack of Deterrence - The purpose of any punishment should be deterrence from repeating the same act. But, according to the statistics available, the death penalty has not been effective in controlling the homicide rate. The studies have revealed the shocking truth that executions actually increase the murder rate. That means the capital punishment does not deter violent crime. According to a New York Times study, the last 20 years witnessed 48% homicide rate in states with the implementation of capital punishment compared to 23% in the states without capital punishment. 5. The prolonged uncertainty – The validity to the deterrence argument is annulled by the delays, endless appeals, retrials, and technicalities that keep persons predestined to capital punishment waiting for execution for years. In fact, we are not competent enough to carry out execution. This uncertainty and incompetence offers another great injustice. It is itself cruel and a form of torture. 6. Justifying circumstances - Sometimes, persons suffering from emotional trauma, abandonment, violence, neglect or destructive social environment commit such heinous crimes. These mitigating situations can have devastating effect on their humanity. So, it is unfair to hold them fully responsible for their crimes. It is our communal responsibility toShow MoreRelatedDeath Penalty Inhumane1011 Words   |  5 PagesDeath Penalty The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. The death penalty is a concerning factor around the world, because killing a person goes against basis moral law. As long as the death penalty has been standing so has the argument against itself that the death penalty is sinking down to the level of the criminal. While many people agree with the death penalty, killing people as a punishment is wrong, because it is inhumane, costly, and risky forRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Inhumane1494 Words   |  6 PagesThey say the death penalty is inhumane, but people will never know unless they have someone close to them killed, raped, mutilated in ways that couldn’t even be replicated in the movie theaters. Who could possibly be qualified to make such a judgment? Is it judges or jurors? Is it even ethically or morally correct to do so? Since the beginning of time, different methods of execution have been used. These forms have been hanging, guill otine, gas chambers, electric chair, drowning, torched, and firingRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Wrong And Inhumane Essay1170 Words   |  5 Pagesto death is difficult to completely comprehend. The physical procedure involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond comprehension. This act has been critiqued by many people from all around the world and it is our responsibility as a society to see that capital punishment is wrong and inhumane. Some oppositions to the death penalty include racial bias in death sentencingRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Cruel And Inhumane2667 Words   |  11 Pagesstudents are making out in the hallways with minor penalties, a man was publicly humiliated for kissing his wife in public (Cox). Acts like this were punished commonly during the colonial times. In the early American colonies, religious authorities established punis hments for actions they presumed to be crimes, but as time passed, laws evolved to protect people from cruel and unusual punishments. The colonial treatments were harsh, cruel and inhumane. These treatments, more commonly known as punishmentsRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is An Inhumane Capital Punishment882 Words   |  4 PagesThe death penalty is an inhumane capital punishment that is accompanied by many disadvantages. Among these are; the deaths of innocent people, failed executions, and morality of human execution. We are all people and just like justice Thurgood Marshall said, â€Å"No matter how careful courts are, the possibility of perjured testimony, mistaken honest testimony, and human error remain all too real. We have no way of judging how many innocent persons have been executed, but we can be certain that thereRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is A Humane Or Inhumane Form Of Justice1731 Words   |  7 PagesThis is where the death penalty issue comes into play. The death penalty has been around for thousands of years and, compared to the past, has changed dramatically. For example, people used to be publically tortured and then executed in front of anyone who wanted to see unlike today, the most common practice used is the lethal injection. Yet, many people wonder whether capital punishment is a humane or inhumane form of justice. So, should all states implement the death penalty to reduce violent crimesRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Not Be Considered Unethical Or Inhumane1569 Words   |  7 Pagessuch as the death penalty should not be considered unethical or inhumane. The death penalty may be difficult to understand, but based on recent studies, it is nearly proven that the death penalty will save money along with many other benefits. By using the death penalty it will eliminate same person crimes, will cause fear, will save money, and will open a jail cell. Also, fewer criminals will provide more food, shelter and drinks for crimes that aren’t as bad. By using the death penalty it would benefitRead More Death Penalty: Ineffective, Inhumane, and Immoral Essays1228 Words   |  5 PagesThe death penalty is the pivot of much controversy within our society and government. Most people deem it a touchy subject, rarely making it a hot topic amongst general conversations. The issue usually raises many a blood pressure and may even have the tendency to end life-long friendships. The country is split on the issue and does not seem to find the desire to come to a compromise. While this is not true, this does not quiet the voices of people arguing for capital punishment. The issue of deathRead MoreThe United States Should Abolish The Death Penalty970 Words   |  4 Pagesabout whether or not the United States should abolish the death penalty. The United States should not abolish this because those who commit a capital felony which is punishable by imprisonment or death, should serve a capital punishment which is the death penalty. Many believe that certain crimes such as rape and murder should punishable by the death penalty. Although many also see it as inhumane, many also view murder and rape as inhumane. One can view this as part of Hammburi’s Code law that statesRead MoreIntroduction Of The Death Penalty Debate1523 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction to the Death Penalty Debate It was said by an Iowa State Supreme Court justice in the 1840s, â€Å"Crime indicates a diseased mind in the same manner that sickness and pain do a diseased body. And as in the one case we provide hospitals for the treatment of severe and contagious diseases, so in the other, prisons and asylums should be provided for similar reasons† (Banner, 2002, p.118). Individuals who have committed crimes serve their sentences and punishments, or are â€Å"treated†, in prisons

Future Energy Free Essays

Future energy Have you ever thought about the energy providing you electricity for your daily life that nuclear power could take you off from this world (it is not clear what you mean here)? What was your feeling when you watching news about the Fukushima nuclear crisis? What do you think when you see how victims of Chernobyl disaster live today? Good start – the questions are a very good way to get your reader’s attention. ) All of those issues are just because of one reason – the safety problem of nuclear power. The question is: Can we control it completely? This question is not only for some people or some groups; the /a specific government (or governments? as with your other essays on this topic, be clear about what you mean. We will write a custom essay sample on Future Energy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Are you thinking about one specific government? Governments in general? ) should consider their citizens and, even every single species living on this planet. Apparently, some countriesy could not dominate nuclear power so that tragedy was happened and severely affected on millions of people. For this reason, I think government (again, be clear – one specific government? Governments in general? should replace nuclear power by alternatives such as solar electrical energy ? Is this supposed to be here? generation and wind electric power generation. Sustainabilityle is the most important index for every type of energy resource. People argues that nuclear is the most sustainable energy resource they have. The fuel of nuclear power cost that uranium and plutonium is the precious metals in the nature (? It is not clear what you mean here). But people who support nuclear power seems to have ignored the fact that the storage of precious metals is very low; it has some day that exhaust from the Earth (awkward – perhaps â€Å"will some day be exhausted from the earth†? ). People know that wind energy and solar energy all have been exploited (this is really the heart of your argument in this paragraph, but this part of the sentence is not clear. What do you mean they have been exploited? This sounds like a negative thing, not a positive thing as you argument should suggest. ). The fuel cost of those two energy resources is zero. They are enduring energy resources, unless the sun disappears from sky and the Earth stops revolving. Spinning. So for the issue of resources (you started the paragraph with the idea of sustainability. It would be a good idea to end your argument in this paragraph with that as well. ), solar energy (what about wind energy? ) is better than nuclear power. Other than sustainabilityle, the cost of running and maintaining a nuclear power plant is the important point that people find? interesting. For every power plant, people will spend money on planning, designing, constructing, running, maintaining it. Every single step in this process will cost amount of money to make sure the plant will works well. And the cost of materials and cost of maintenance is the significant chunk of the whole cost (what is the cost comparison? Do you have some statistics/figures that support your argument here? ). People (who are these ‘people’ you keep writing about? Do you have some support from experts on this topic that you could bring into your argument? ) are saying that traditional electric plants will cost too much money on materials and maintenance. So they think nuclear power plant is the best choice for finance. For nuclear power plant, it will cost only less than a hundred tons of nuclear material for every year; nevertheless, the cost of designing and planning a nuclear power plant is much higher than traditional electric plant. It cost huge number of money on safety, but it still does not work well. However, for solar electrical energy generation and wind electric power generation, it cosst much less on designing and constructing than nuclear power plants, even none on fuels. I suggest government to calculate the price-performance ratio of setting a plant. O. k. Good suggestion, but what is the cost comparison? How do you know that these differences in cost exist? For every factory or plant, people always focus on how its productivity is. But the hot potato of pollution is getting more necessary (? I am not sure what you mean here). They might think more about how much discharges will it waste and how to dispose of those discharge more thoroughly. It has been argued that the most important advantage of nuclear power plant is its low discharging. And people who holding this opinion think nuclear power plants are very eco-friendly for environment. They contend that there is no gaseous pollutants discharge from nuclear power plants. But we can not ignore that the nuclear radiation from nuclear power plant waste is much more dangerous than gaseous pollutants that very harmful for the human and the nature. For the human body, when the radiation value get overtakes more thanthe threshold, it will damage the tissue in the body. People still haves no effective method to dispose of the Radioactive Nuclear Waste that all this three method can not restrain the radiation come out (? this is unclear). It will damage the soil and the ocean andthat threatens the other species. Even today, the nuclear radiation from Chernobyl disaster continues to influence on the soil and water. Ukraine has millions of victims affected by this accident. And now, some of them died by cancer, some of them are still living under the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster. Nevertheless, there is no problem on discharge of solar electrical energy generation and wind electric power generation. (you need to say more about this – give more of a comparison in order to make your argument stronger. So I am highly recommending that government should consider the future of human race. In conclusion, people who support nuclear power strongly are holding strong reasons (â€Å"have good reasons†? So that you don;t repeat ‘strong’). But it is not suitable for nowadays anymore. People should learn to embrace new technology to replace the old one. The Government should use new energies to make sure people’s life can be proceeding and secure, and human race can be inherit prosperous. As Meador (1978) says: â€Å"There is no way to know absolutely about the future until we make the journey†. , said by Meador (1978). This is a great way to end, Mike. Mike – You make a number of good points in this essay and you have organized it well. You have all of the elements of a good essay: a clear thesis statement, focused paragraphs with topic sentences and generally good connections between ideas. I have made a number of comments throughout your essay, though, of places where improvements are needed. My main comment is that you need to give more specific examples of the statements that you make. This means: – – Eliminating your use of â€Å"They† and â€Å"People† to describe those who hold opposite views to yours. These are large generalizations that make it easy for your reader to question the reality of what you are saying. If there are experts who hold these opinions, then be specific about who they are. – Use sources and statistics to back up your arguments – I have noted a number of places where you make some statements that are generalizations. These generalizations make your argument weaker than it could be. However, if you use statistics or confirmed facts to back up your generalizations, that would strengthen your argument. Source: You have a source listed at the end of your essay that seems like it might be a good one to support some of your arguments. Why didn’t you use more information from this source throughout your essay? Mark: 60/100 Reference: Meador, Roy. (1978). Future Energy Alternatives. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Inc. 3, 112. This book talks about energy crisis and why we need energy alternatives. The book shows several types of alternatives such as solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, peat, heat pumps, and hydrogen energy. Then it gives what are the benefits of those alternatives. How to cite Future Energy, Essay examples

Utilizing Solution Focused Brief Therapy free essay sample

Domestic violence is one of the most pressing issues facing social workers today. It occurs between individuals of all ages and nationalities, at all socioeconomic levels, and in families from all types of religious and non-religious backgrounds (Straus Gelles, 1990; Carter McGoldrick, 1999). Domestic violence remains a significant social and public health problem affecting not just the couple but the entire family as well. Increased parental conflict negatively impacts children’s academic, behavioral and social-emotional functioning and the parents’ well being (Carlson, 2000; Carter McGoldrick, 1999; Lyon, 1998). The overall rate of incident has been found to be similar for city, suburban, and rural communities (Straus Gelles, 1990). According to Carter and McGoldrick (1999), violence is a widespread occurrence in families throughout the life cycle in our society as it is in all other patriarchal cultures. The World Health Organization (2002) cited a study brought together population surveys in 48 countries, which indicated that 10-69% of women reported experiencing physical violence from a male partner at some stage in their life. We will write a custom essay sample on Utilizing Solution Focused Brief Therapy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the United States, approximately 4. million acts of physical or sexual violence are perpetrated against women; while 2. 9 million physically aggressive acts are committed against men each year (Straus Gelles, 1990). The Population Domestic Violence is the most widespread form of violence in the United States and is the major cause of injury to women. In the United States a woman is beaten every nine seconds (Kosof, 1995). According to the first major study of battered women, conducted in 1976, women experienced physical assault in nearly one third of all American families (Kosof, 1995). Every year, an estimated three to four million women in the United States were beaten in their homes by a husband, ex-husband, or male lover (Kosof, 1995). Twenty percent of hospital emergency room visits by women are due to battering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, a woman is in nine time’s more likely to be a victim of a violent act in her own home than on the streets (Kosof, 1995). In the same manner, more than fifty percent of all women killed in the United States are killed by their male partners (Kosof, 1995). According to the American Medical Association, certain groups of women are at higher risk for becoming victims of abuse (Kosof, 1995). These include women who: are single, separated or divorced (or planning a separation or divorce), are between the ages of 17 and 28, abuse alcohol and/or other drugs or whose partners do, are pregnant, and have partners who are excessively jealous or possessive. Domestic Violence is a silent epidemic that occurs in all socioeconomic, ethnic, cultural, racial and religious groups. These statistics are frightening, and so too is the life of the person who has been battered or is being battered. The Ecological Perspective According to the ecology of human development an individual is not seen as a passive, static, and isolated entity on which the environment exerts great influence, but as a dynamic and evolving being that interacts with, and thereby restructures, the many environments with which it comes into contact (Gardner Kosmitzki, 2008). The ecological model offers a broad-based conceptualization of domestic violence that takes into account the complex interactions between the individual, the family, the community, and societal risk factors. For example, at the individual level, factors that can increase the level of risk to the victim include substance abuse, unemployment, and poverty, history of abuse as a child, isolated from friends and/or family, and mental or physical disability. These factors increase the likelihood of domestic abuse. However, other factors may be protective and reduce the level of risk to the victim, which include: the victim’s abilities to cope, cognitive abilities, and the presence of social supports or affectionate family ties (Holden Nabors, 1999). In the same manner, in relation to the ecological framework family factors would refer to the processes in the family such as family environment, family interaction, family stressors, and parenting skills. Family stress in conjunction with financial difficulties, chronic poverty and unemployment is one major area that could overwhelm a family’s capacity to function. The stresses and strains of socioeconomic hardship are associated with higher rates of domestic violence (Kaufman Kantor Straus, 1999). Community factors refer to the community in which the family lives, the peer groups of the family members, the formal and informal supports, the availability of jobs, the availability and access to community services (i. e. transportation, mental health services, health care, shelters). Increased levels of neighborhood crime and family poverty can impact and increase the risk and co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment (Andrews, 1996). At the societal level, the established laws and policies in relations to domestic violence may in fact fail to protect the victim and consequently re-victimize her. For example, domestic violence victims are increasingly being charged for â€Å"failure to protect† even when the partner is abusing the child and the mother (Beeman, Hagemeister, Edelson, 1999). In addition, some states have considered legislation that makes a child’s witnessing of domestic violence a form of criminal abuse (Beeman, Hagemeister Edelson, 1999) and, consequently a reason to remove the child from the home. Finally, due to mandatory arrest laws, dual arrests in domestic violence cases have significantly increased. As a direct result, perpetrators and victims may be treated as indistinguishable and battered women can suffer the same consequences as the batterer (Lyon, 1998). Treatment Approach Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), also know as Solution-Focused Therapy, Solution-Building Practice therapy was developed by Steve de Shazer (1940-2005), and Insoo Kim Berg (1934-2007) and their colleagues beginning in the late 1970’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As the name suggests, SFBT is future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems. Solution-Focused Therapy operates within a conceptual framework that views people living and creating new narratives about their lives that extend beyond their problem-focused ones. (Cooper Lesser, 2008). It represents a systematic, strengths-based collaborative approach to support individuals, couples, or families. Due to the fact that these systems are interrelated (whether they are individuals within the family or the individual’s personal emotions, cognitions, or behaviors) changes within one-domain effects the other. SFBT conducts the same process regardless of the issues or problems that the individual client brings to therapy. SFBT is an approach that focuses on how clients change, rather than one which focuses on diagnosing and treating problems (Corsini Wedding, 2008). As such it uses the language of change. The signature questions used in solution-focused interviews are intended to set-up a therapeutic process wherein social workers listen for and absorb clients’ words and meanings (regarding what is important to clients, what they want, and related successes), then formulate and ask the next question by connecting to clients’ key words and phrases, continue to listen and absorb as clients again answer from their frames of reference, and once again formulate and ask the next question by similarly connecting. It is through this process of listening, absorbing, connecting, and client responding that social workers and clients together co-construct new and altered meanings that build toward solutions. The major components of SFBT include: (1) Developing a cooperative therapeutic alliance with the client; (2) Creating a solution versus problem focus; (3) Setting measurable and changeable goals; (4) Focusing on the future, through future oriented questions and discussions; (5) Scaling the ongoing attainment of the goals to get the client’s evaluation of the progress made; (6) Focusing the conversation on exceptions to the client’s problems, especially those exceptions related to what they want different, and encouraging them to do more of what they did to make the exceptions happen. According to Trepper, et. al. (2006) the main interventions utilized with SFBT are as follows: (1) A positive, collegial, solution-focused stance; (2) Looking for previous solutions; (3) Looking for exceptions; (4) Questions versus directive or interpretations; (5) Present and future-focused questions versus past-orientated focus; (6) Compliments; and Gentle nudging to do more of what is working. The specific interventions utilized are (1) Pre-session change; (2) (3) Solution-focused goals; (4) The Miracle Question; and (4) Scaling Questions. Implementing SFBT with Domestic Violence Survivors The ultimate goal of the Social Worker to provide a therapeutic context for domestic violence female survivors to re-discover and re-connect with their own resourcefulness in resisting, avoiding, escaping, and fighting against the abuse, develop a vision of a life free of violence, and empower to re-experience their personal power in bringing positive changes in their lives (Lee, 2007). This approach adopts different assumptions and methods in assisting the female survivors to achieve these ends. Rather than building the treatment strategies upon understanding the problem of violence, SFBT suggests a positive change in clients that can occur by focusing on solutions, strengths, and competencies instead of focusing on problems, deficits and pathology (Lee, 2007). The initial step of optimizing the success of solution-focused therapy is based on the Social Worker’s ability to recognize and respect the client’s strengths, abilities, and accomplishments (Lee, 2007). During treatment with a DV survivor, the Social Worker can utilize different questions to assist the client to construct solution patters that does not subject her to violence and abuse in intimate relationships. Exception questions refer to times when the problem is either absent, less intense, or dealt with in a manner that is acceptable to the client. These questions can focus on the times when the client is better able to protect her and to resist, avoid, escape and fight against violence. Outcome questions can be used to assist the client in establishing goals for herself. Outcome questions ask the client to state goals in a positive manner rather than in the negative. In the same manner, coping questions assist the client in recognizing her resources in times of turmoil. Coping questions ask the client to talk about how she manages to survive and cope with the problems. The Social Worker must be careful to focus the question on how the client copes with the abuse because these questions may potentially collude with and therefore, run the danger of reinforcing the abuse. The scaling questions ask the client to rank their situation and/or goal on a scale of 1-10, with 1 representing the worst scenario and 10 representing the most desirable outcome (Lee, 2007). These questions are a simple tool for the client to quantify and evaluate her situation and progress so that she can establish clear indicators of change for herself. Relationship questions ask the client how her significant others are reacting to her problem and solution finding progress. Establishment of multiple indicators of change empowers the client to develop a clear vision of a desired future appropriate to her real-life context. Finally, SFBT utilizes task assignment or homework to help the client identify exception behaviors to the problem for which they are encouraged to â€Å"do more of what works† Conclusion In conclusion, the SFBT techniques encourage the client to be curious about her behaviors and potentials and identify, expand, amplify and reinforce solution-oriented behaviors. The Social Worker begins the therapeutic process by understanding the client’s unique experience of her life situation and battering experience. The Social Worker orients the client find solutions for her concerns. While understanding the client’s construction of her situation, the Social Worker, concurrently asks solution-oriented questions to assess risk and mental health status of the client. Utilizing outcome questions, the Social Worker helps the client establish specific, concrete, goals that are stated as desirable behaviors. The Social Worker continually asks exception, outcome, coping, relationship, and scaling questions to assist the client to construct an alternative reality that does not contain violence in her intimate relationships. The Social Worker then compliments the client on any of her positive behaviors and suggestions that are conductive to her self-defined goals. Effectively utilizing these techniques the Social Worker can achieve the ultimate goal of therapy—empowerment of the client.

Steroid use and Sports an Example of the Topic Health Essays by

Steroid use and Sports by Expert Prof Solphie | 29 Nov 2016 The steroids taken by athletes contain testosterone or chemicals that act in a similar way to testosterone, which help increase the development of male sexual characteristics. So, as well as promoting the growth of skeletal muscles, steroids basically turns women into men and men into monsters. Need essay sample on "Steroid use and Sports" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed "The Steroid Story, What they are, what they do, and what you need to know about the uses and abuses of anabolic steroids" According to the author Laura Bonetta this article beautifully highlights that anabolic steroids, the trendy name of artificial substances connected to the male hormone testosterone, are helpful drugs that doctors recommend to treat incapacitating diseases. But gradually more, they are being abused by strong people to pick up an athletic presentation and appearance. Moreover, one of the main scandals in new sports history exploded in 1998, when Mark McGwire first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and an applauded home-run king confessed he used androstenedione to improve his performance on the field. Strength Of Anabolic Steroids According to the author of this article The human body construct various dissimilar kinds of hormones, which are released into the blood and act similar to messengers to control the function of different tissues and organs. Testosterone is a hormone made first and foremost in mens testes that triggers a lot of the changes that occur throughout puberty ty. Moreover, females also have small amounts of it in their bodies. Weaknesses of Anabolic Steroids Though a variety of anabolic steroids may be at variance with their relative level of anabolic in opposition to androgenic effects, there are no purely anabolic steroids, says Cynthia Kuhn, a pharmacology professor at Duke University Medical Center. He also highlights this fact that means that an athlete taking anabolic steroids to get better muscles will knowledge side effects that have to do with the androgenic functions of these drugs. Psychological Characteristics of Adolescent Steroid Users According to this article of Kent F. Burnett, anabolic-androgenic steroids have been used since the early 1950s to improve the athletic presentation, the occurrence of use appears to have greater than before significantly in recent years. Chiefly disturbing is the augmented incidence of their use amongst adolescents. The rising proof of habituation amongst adolescent steroid users and the strongly reinforcing properties of the drugs have created a pressing require for more information concerning the psychosocial characteristics of the adolescents who use these drugs. Such information would dish up an imperative role in the growth of effectual intervention and obstacle programs. Thus, the goals of the present study were to methodically assess a broad variety of psychosocial characteristics in mutually steroid-using and nonsteroid-using adolescents and to decide if any of these characteristics might prove helpful in differentiating flanked by these groups. According to the research analysis of this article, the data did not recognize any exclusive personality characteristics that distinguish athletic adolescents who use steroids from athletic adolescents who do not use steroids. Further, while no cause-and-effect conclusions can be drawn, the mood trouble data point to that there are a number of potentially serious harmful psychological effects throughout steroid use cycles. Steroid Substitutes: No-Win Situation for Athletes According to the author Kevin L. Ropp that though the three drugs are not steroids, all are battered in sports since athletes believe they improve performance. From athletes in international rivalry to college and high school athletes to the teenager who just wants to "bulk up," people of all ages and aptitude have found alternatives to putting back anabolic steroids. No doubt, the study also set up that a lot of steroid-type ingredients, called sterols, were being advertised. With the exemption of ecdysterone, the sterols were all plant derivatives, Ecdysterone is a bug hormone with no known use in humans. Human growth hormone, or HGH, is one more popular steroid option. Produced of course by the human body, HGH's only accepted medical use is to treat pituitary dwarfism, but it is under study to treat other disorders. Contrasting anabolic steroids to those steroid alternatives, Leggett says, "We accepted all of these anabolic steroids for family use in treating diseases like anemias, osteoporosis, and convinced cancers. We know what to wait for from their label dosage and overdoses. A few short-term reactions from using steroid options are alike to those associated with anabolic steroid abuse. These reactions comprise bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, severe acne, early balding, bloating linked by water retention, and greasy skin. Clenbuterol, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, human enlargement hormone, and erythropoietin, all banned in global competition, are a few of the more well-liked steroid alternatives athletes are now abusing. But, Leggett says, this list is probably to produce as athletes trial with dissimilar and new chemicals. Research Challenges After reviewing the above articles we can say that steroids are dangerous when used in any manner without medical supervision. Athletes that compete in a competitive sport usually use it to gain an advantage over their opponents. The problem is that it has undesired side effects for men, women, and even the unborn. There have been many famous athletes at the Olympics that have used steroids and have achieved Olympic glory by winning the gold medal. But when they were tested for drug use and were found positive for drugs, they were embarrassed in front of the world and shamed their country. When abused steroids are no longer anabolic, they stop building the bodies tissue and start tearing it down, as anything will when used in excess. No doubt, this research can be expanded in detail because it also had the great effect on the social and ethical behavior of adults. In conclusion, the use of anabolic steroids is a serious mistake that many athletes make when competing in sports. But this research is highlighting the causes of steroid on sports athletes because when they were tested for drug use and were found helpful for drugs, they were uncomfortable in front of the world and shamed their country. When abused steroids are no longer anabolic, they stop building the bodies tissue and start tearing it down, as anything will when used in excess. Reference Laura Bonetta (2004, August). The Steroid Story, What they are, what they do, and what you need to know about the uses and abuses of anabolic steroids, American School Board Journal, August 2004 Kent F. Burnett , Mark E. Kleiman 2002, Psychological Characteristics of Adolescent Steroid Users. Journal Title: Adolescence. Volume: 29. Issue: 113. Publication Year: 1994. Page Number: 81. Kevin L. Ropp 2002, Steroid Substitutes: No-Win Situation for Athletes. Magazine Title: FDA Consumer. Volume: 26. Issue: 10. Publication Date: December 2002. Page Number: 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_sport

World War II, like many other wars, had a very big impact in many ways Essay Example

World War II, like many other wars, had a very big impact in many ways Essay Example World War II, like many other wars, had a very big impact in many ways Essay World War II, like many other wars, had a very big impact in many ways Essay Essay Topic: A Long Way Gone Back in the World Stories The whole American home front changed during World War II. More and more women started to work in factories like never before. They became more independent and stopped relying on their husbands to provide the income for their family. World War 2 revolutionized the work industry for women. Before the war, mostly men worked in factories, but after they left for war, women took their spots. Even after they returned, women were not willing to go back, and still have not turned back.World War II also affected life in Japan. A very big spark to the start of World War II was the attack on Pearl Harbor. America then decided to attack Japan, leading to the second world war. The war went from 1941 to 1945, and soon enough, we got tired of the war and all of the deaths and casualties, so we decided to bomb Hiroshima and then Nagasaki. As a result, the war ended, but a new phase sprung up in those two places. Many people were killed and injured severely. They lost everything they had from person al belongings to loved ones. It was hard for people at that time to recover from such a dramatic event. Some had no place to go because their homes were gone, and so were the people they once knew. It was a new life for everyone who survived. Everything would be different and nothing like the times they were used to.Not only was life different for people back on the home front and in Japan, but things in Europe were upside down as well. All the Jewish families in Europe were faced with the holocaust. They got sent off to concentration camps, ghetto camps, or just suffered from hiding from the Nazis. Life in the camps for them was worse than dying. The Jewish families got separated from each other, and many never saw their loved ones again. They died mainly from malnutrition and the Nazis killing them. It was so bad that people even committed suicide.Lastly, the war had a huge impact on the soldiers that were a part of it. If they were drafted, they were forced to go off to war, the beginning of a new life. They left their friends and families, knowing they might not see them again, to represent our country. However, many of them were not able to survive and died. Soldiers suffered from many diseases, and spent months and years in the cold fighting. They mightve made friends at war, but it was hard when one of them got shot or died. We know of all these stories about war life and how they fought, but in order to get the real feel for how it really was, someone would have to experience it first. The experience the soldiers had when they were fighting was not the best thing that couldve happened to them.As you can see, World War II had a big impact all around the world. Many people in different countries faced challenges that they would have to eventually overcome. Most of the challenges that came across were life changing. Some died, and the rest had to start up a totally new life, something that none of us would be willing to do.

Child Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Development - Essay Example The human life cycle is governed by natural laws. A pioneer in the field of child development, Gesell’s set of milestones for children is still widely used pediatricians, psychologists and other professionals who work with children (Wikipedia). He believed that the child’s personality is the product of slow gradual growth. The nervous system natures in stages and is a natural process. For example, the child sits before he stands and babbles before he stands. A child is initially dependent and only later attains independence. He learns to draw a circle before he draws a square. The development pattern follows the law of growth. Gesell suggested that child should not be forced into doing something but instead his growth should be guided. It is unwise to teach children ahead of their maturational schedule. This implies that the child is not ready and if he is not ready the education process must be delayed. Gesell further believed that during the preschool age there are many suggestions that physically and psychologically the child is reaching a stage of maturity. During the school period child’s vocabulary expands, learns facts and figures. During the early adolescence independence comes to the forefront. In later adolescence physiological changes take place including behavioral patterns and emotional attitudes. All the traits at every stage in human life have been associated with the history of human race (Packer). He strongly links democracy to development and advocates freedom at all stages of maturation. According to Gesell, democracy is a way of life. To inculcate the attitudes of tolerance and fair play in children, the adults need to be educated first. This implies the adults have to play role models for the children. This linear model of human development generated by Gesell’s maturational perspective was used by clinicians to predict long-term outcomes based on the developmental milestones in the early years of the child but

Management and leadership in exercise and sport Essay

Management and leadership in exercise and sport - Essay Example Hence management can be described as the art of getting things done or getting resources being used through people. This paper will look at the above mentioned functions of management and how they are employed in management. (Higgings 1994, p. 34) There are four basic functions of management. First management is involved in planning the resources for the organization. In this regard, management performs the work of determining resources that are to be used in the organization and how they are to be used. Management also carries out the work of leading the organization. In this function management works to direct resources in the organization on how they are to be used. This calls for application of leadership skills in order to direct others on how the resources are to be used. Management also functions to coordinate the operations of the organization in order to ensure that resources are used in the most appropriate manner. In this regard the management coordinates the functions of different departments in the organization so that they can function as one system. Management also functions to control the resources in the organization. ... Planning should act as the base under which all other functions of management are to be carried out. It forms the core operation of management function since there can be no management if there is not efficient planning of how resources are to be used in the operation of an organization. Planning involves the assessment of the needs of the organization and consequently coming up with ways on how those needs are to be fulfilled. Assessment helps the management to understand how all other functions are to be integrated in order to achieve the set goals. Basically planning involves setting goals and objectives that has to be achieved. (Purcell 2006, p. 5) Planning can simply be termed as an unending course of actions. It involves coming up with set of problems to be addressed and strategies that will be used to address the problems. Planning is therefore the way in which management assess the needs of the organization and consequently comes up with strategies aimed at addressing the specific needs. Strategies can be termed as a systematic way of addressing external and internal factors that helps an organization to achieve its objectives. Depending on the conditions and the needs to be addressed, the management may have to come up with different strategies or change its course of action in fulfilling its goals. This is function of management is called strategic planning. In this regard the management must take time to analyze internal and external factors that may affect the strategies of an organization to achieve the set goals. It invokes studying strengths and weakness, opportunities and threats of the organization in its pursuit o f achieving the set goals. This requires practical and

Information and Librarians in the Digitial Age Personal Statement

Information and Librarians in the Digitial Age - Personal Statement Example I have always had faith in myself and in God to do what is best for me throughout my life. I had worked for the library during my high school and college years, starting as a page. My interest in libraries began here that while I was shelving books and skimming through the pages, I discovered the love for books and reading. My longevity with one organization has taught me to work as a team player, to communicate constructively, exhibit flexibility, handle problems and show commitment. Some strength I possess is that I am an energetic, highly motivated person which I think can make me survive the rigors of graduate work. I am a self-starter, who is able to take on new challenges. In order to achieve common goals, I am able to work well with others. My short-term goal is providing the best care for my son, Nasir. My family is very supportive of my going to graduate school, especially since I will be the first female from either side to attain a master's degree. My long-term dream has been to pursue a Master's degree in the Library field. My goal has been to learn a lot from my supervisors and co-workers on how libraries work throughout the years. I have always felt I would be a good leader and teacher. I have worked in the library field for eights years. I have loved libraries since I was a little girl, always looking up information. This love continued in college, where I worked as a page at DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, Georgia. I wanted to be around books as much as possible. I enjoy library work because I have access to all the information in the world at my fingertips, in both print and electronic form. I learn something new every day, and Iinteract with people of all ages and from all walks of life. I use my interviewing and teaching skills, and I have learned indispensable computer skills as a bonus. Librarianship has been a good fit for me. What I like best about being a librarian is helping people use the library resources. I try to be outgoing by establishing eye contact with patrons and asking them if they need assistance. There is so much to teach the public about libraries, and there are so many resources available. From finding a book on the shelf to using the Internet, people need help, but they often don't ask for it. The librarian has to be outgoing. As I am a graduate of Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems, I discovered that working in a library is a lot of fun. My job gives me an opportunity to use my information seeking skills as well as to indulge my web publishing and instruction interests. I feel now is the right time to pursue my degree. I want to develop my educational background and continue working in the library field. In order to move ahead in my career, I would need to obtain a degree to reflect my skill in working in this field. If in order, the program at UNT will provide me with the comprehension I need to become a librarian. If admitted into the UNT program, I would like to pursue administration. The librarian of today is not like the librarian of yesterday due to the impact of technology that has transformed the profession. Where before there were just printed materials in the library, now information highways through the use largely of the Internet is largely what the student has to deal with. Public libraries are busy, vibrant community centers that are open days, nights, weekends and even some holidays.

Customer Awareness Toward Islamic Accounting Theory

Customer Awareness Toward Islamic Accounting Theory CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Islamic banks considered as an active player in the world economies over two decades ago (Ahmed S., 2009). The principles accounting upon which Islamic banking is based have been universally accepted for centuries rather than decades. The fundamental principle of Islamic financial institutions is the prohibition of Riba (interest). It is manifest that Islamic accounting theory were practiced mainly in the Islamic country throughout the middle ages, development trade and business activities. In order to understand what services that Islamic banks offer, it is essential to maintain an acceptable level of information of the basis behind it. It has been argued that the Islamic banks have not introduced any new services since their first existence in the 1970s, in fact they have tried to comply with the rules of the Islamic religion specified for these types of actions. High requests to assess Muslim customers perception and attitude toward Islamic bank services. Islamic banks understand that its paramount important to measure the degree of its customers awareness as well as to improve services. The financial institution follows the rules that Holy Quran and hadith have set to guide the Muslims in their financial matters. The Islamic financial system employs the idea of participation in the project, utilizing the funds at threat on a profit-and- loss-distribution basis (Ahmed, S., 2009). 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM During the last three decades, Islamic finance institutions have been rising significantly, both nationally and internationally (Ahmed, S., 2009; Iqbal Abbas, 2007). These firms were recognized in the emerging market of the Middle East to meet the order of investors and borrowers who are motivated by income maximization derived from the Islamic law (Sharia). Islamic finance institutions offer an extensive range of Islamic financial innovations from the simple agreement of profit-sharing agreement (Mudaraba) that is parallel to time deposit in conservative banks, to issue Islamic bonds (Sukuk) and derivatives. In gulf countries, the state of Kuwait banking industry considered on of the leaders in Islamic financial market. The growth of Islamic finance institutions in Kuwait has attracted some of the conventional financial firms (e.g., NBK IFIH, and Citibank) to add the service of Islamic windows to their clients. In spite of the advantages that are fixed in Islamic finance system and management, Islamic finance institutions encounter numerous primary challenges to the prospect of being recognized internationally. The challenges exist in local as well as global markets. On of these challenges is to assess the degree of awareness in Islamic accounting theories. In their study, Gerrard and Cunningham (1997) reported that Muslim respondents, though aware of basic conditions in Islam, were almost wholly ignorant of the sense of specific Islamic financial conditions like Mudaraba, Musharaka and Ijara. As result, many Islamic financial providers seek to assess the level of social awareness of their tools that incorporate with Sharia. The understanding of customer degree of awareness are paramount important to determine firms endowment to promote Islamic accounting theories. Bankers also seek to explore the reasons behind dealing with Islamic banks to better understand and improve services provided. Another challenge that faces Islamic financial institutions is that, as service provided they have to understand customers perceptions and attitude toward the services provided to better understand customers need, want, and improve their services. With no understanding to customer perceptions and attitude Islamic banks may have no means to better develop their services and improve customer satisfaction and compete in the local as well as the international market. The current study seeks to assess the level of customers awareness of Islamic accounting theories and to explore their perceptions and attitude toward these tools that incorporate with Sharia. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Islamic financing is an important area of contemporary academic and policy interest. Opposing views in the area are analyzed in the light of empirical evidence. Measuring the degree of customer awareness toward Islamic accounting theory and their perception and attitude toward Islamic tools will shape the future of Islamic financing. The current study attempts to reveals the degree of customers awareness toward Islamic and efforts bestows to improve their awareness in order to assist Islamic financial institution to determine the efforts needed to raise this awareness and improve their attitude and perceptions. Another objective of this study is to explore customers perceptive and perception toward Islamic transactions thus Islamic financial institutions can better understand their customers and improve services provided. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Islamic banks provide many financial services and are competing heavily in the Middle East with conventional banks. Customers nowadays go for Islamic bank loans for buying home, cars and even business setup, as the conditions are very clear and there are no rising interest piling up. To overcome the fierce competition, Islamic bank need to bestow efforts in rising the degree of awareness toward Islamic accounting and finical tools and improve customers perception and attitude. The study is of general theoretical importance as well as of particular practical significance for policy makers who intend to conform their existing financial systems to Islamic rules. Furthermore, at the practical level, the study aims to assist Islamic bank manager in providing empirically evidence how of Kuwaiti customers aware toward Islamic accounting theory and Islamic financial services. The study also provide framework for bank managers in measuring customers perception and attitude toward Islamic services and their usage of various products and services offered. At the theoretical level, the current study aims to develop the literature of Islamic accounting theory and explain how these theories are to be implemented in the Islamic financial institution who adapts Sharia. 1.5 THE SETTING OF THE STUDY In the Gulf Co-operation Council there are growing number of Islamic banks are also taking steps towards greater clearness and stronger authority structures. The state of Kuwait for example, has been taking a number of steps to reinforce its local Sharia-obedient institutions, including slowly moving in the direction of a latest regulatory framework for sukuk. In conversations with OBG, manufacturing insiders explained that due to a lack of suitable legal mechanisms, Islamic finance companies are not allowed to issue sukuk in Kuwait, which forces Kuwaiti companies to work through other markets, such as Bahrain. Given the massive increase in sukuk issuance worldwide, pegged at nearly $17 billion (in the Gulf alone, the growth rate since 2001 has been nearly 45%), Kuwaits financiers are keenly aware of the need for proper rules regulating sukuk. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabah, the governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), said earlier of 2008 that regulations are wanted, saying that the CBK is keen to provide a legal system to regulate Islamic investment tools such as the issuance of sukuk, especially in light of growing demand. We are optimistic a solution will soon be found. In state of Kuwait, the Islamic financial sector and its sharia-compliant companies are the increasingly global. Kuwait Finance house Bank (KFH), as an example, in addition to its Turkey, Malaysia and Bahrain ventures, newly established a subsidiary with a pair of Chinese firms to discover real estate investments in the Chongqing region of a middle China. In a more high-profile move, Investment Dar, one of Kuwaits biggest Islamic investment companies, recently funded a takeover of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin to the tune of $925 million. To achieve the purpose of the current study, the study focuses on a specific Islamic bank that located in the state of Kuwait. KFH has usually been one of the main engines behind the growth of Kuwaits sharia-acquiescent financial market; however, its enlargement and development indicates a growing maturity in Kuwaits sharia-compliant services zone, established by the push toward the regulation of Islamic bonds (sukuk) and the emergence of ever-stronger Islamic investment firms. KFH was the first Islamic bank in Kuwait and one of the pioneers toward adapting of Islamic accounting and financial theory in the gulf region. Beside the convenience, the research believe that exploring the degree of Islamic accounting theories of this bank may reveals highly reliable evidence of generalizing the finding in the state of Kuwait. KFH considered the main Islamic bank in Kuwait and the second-main bank of any kind in the country. Also to the huge injection of capital, KFH lately unveiled plans to set up its own subsidiary in Amman. The expansion of Islamic banks operations at home and overseas underlines the growing development of Kuwaits Islamic financial sector. Thus the study believe that investigating the customers awareness of Islamic banks toward Islamic accounting theory are justified and understanding their perception and attitude toward KFH is paramount important in attempting to improve service quality of Islamic firms. 1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This study is concerns with Islamic banking that located in the state of Kuwait as its difficult to include all Islamic banks related to resource limitation and time restriction. The study also does not analyze all Islamic accounting theory as it is very vast subject to control, rather than focusing on basic Islamic accounting theory that adopted by Islamic financial institutions and banks. Other limitation could be found related to: Sample size: The sample size for the bank customer is very large. Therefore, the collection of customer feedback will be costly in term of time and money. The study aims to attain around (150) survey for the purpose of analysis, which may considered one of the study limitation. Data collection: It may be difficult to distribute and collect all data and forms since the study is targeting to collect feedback from the entire bank customers. 1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS The current study includes many Islamic terms and concepts that will be stated as in Arabic meaning, some of these concepts are: Halal: The actions or items that Muslims can have access to. Haram: The actions or items that Muslims are banned from Riba: What is known in the west as the interest. Maysir: It means Games of chance such as lottery, gambling and it is usually referred to as Haram. Takaful: It is a form of insurance in the Islamic religion which will be explained in the essay. Gharar: Deception, hazard, speculation, uncertainty, risk (literally, peril or hazard) Mudaraba: Is a trustee financing contract, where one party, the financier, entrusts funds to the other party, the entrepreneur, for undertaking an activity Mushakara: It is an equity participation contract, whereby two or more partners contribute with funds to carry out an investment Muqarada: Loan Participation Qard Hassan: It is a benevolent loan (interest free) Sharia: It is Islamic religious law derived from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah 1.8 THESIS STRUCTURE The current study includes five chapters: chapter one described the background of this study, and consisted of the introduction, objectives and significance of the research. Chapter two reviewed the literatures on Islamic banking and theories. Chapter three explained the research methodology. The data analysis techniques and research findings were demonstrated and discussions in chapter four. Finally, chapter five exhibited conclusions and future recommendation. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Its necessary to explore the literature of Islamic accounting theory in details in this chapter. This chapter attempts to review previous literatures on the topic of Islamic Accounting Theory and provides recent finding related to the degree of awareness of customers toward Islamic financial services. This chapter attempts provide recent study and articles about Islamic accounting theory that explain the nature of Islamic banks system. Previous literatures and studies have revealed that the first recent research in Islamic banking filed was conducted in Egypt under cover, without projecting an Islamic picture, for fear of being seen as a demonstration of Islamic fundamentalism, which was abhorrence to the political government (Siddiqi l988). These studies remain until l967 where nine Islamic banks open in the country (Ready l98l). These banks was neither charging nor paying interest, investing mainly by participating in trade and industry, directly or in partnership with others, and shared the profits with their depositors (Siddiqi l988). For that reason, Islamic banks functioned basically as saving-investment firms rather than as commercial banks that based on charging interests. The Nasir Social Bank, established in Egypt in l97l, was declared an interest-free commercial bank, although its charter did not refer to Islam or Shariah (Islamic law). Islamic banks appeared on the earth scene as dynamic players over the past two decades. Nevertheless, a lot of the values that based on Islamic banking usually accepted all over the world, for centuries more willingly than decades. The essential principle of Islamic banking is the ban of Riba (interest), while the essential occupant of Islamic banking the prohibition of riba, a word that encompasses not only the perception of usury, but also that of interest has rarely been recognized as appropriate beyond the Islamic world, a lot of its guiding values have. The majority of these values are rooted in simple ethics and general sense, which form the bases of numerous religions, including Islam. Interest or â€Å"Usury† was forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, whereas Shakespeare and many other writers, mainly those writing in the 19th century, have attacked the barbarity of the carry out. Much of the ethics championed by Victorian writers such as Dickens ranging from the fair division of wealth through to mans elementary right to work is obviously present in contemporary Islamic society. Although the western media oftenrecommend that Islamic banking in its current form is a recent occurrence, in fact, the essential practices and principles date back to the early part of the seventh century. (Islamic Finance: A Euromoney Publication, 1997) It is obvious that Islamic finance was accomplished predominantly in the Muslim world during the Middle Ages, encouragement trade and business behavior. In Spain and the Mediterranean and Baltic States, Islamic trades became vital middlemen for trading actions. It is claimed that several concepts, techniques, and tools of Islamic finance were later adopted by European financiers and businessmen. As Islamic finance is intertwined within its religion, the basis of the religion affects the finance in two important ways: Islam aims at building a socio-economic order based on justice and considers economic activity as a means to an end and not an end in itself. It enjoins Muslims to harness natural resources, which are a trust from Allah SWT, for carrying out rightful activities; but abhors exploitation and man-made inequalities of income and wealth (Al-Harran, 1993). Islam is extremely concerned with the problem of financial growth, but treats this as an significant part of a wider problem, that of total human progress. The crucial function of Islam is to lead human growth on right lines and in the right direction. Islamic principle deals with all sides of economic development in the framework of total human development (Al-Harran, 1993). The reinforcement of Islamic banking coincided with the world-wide festivity of the advent of the 15th Century of Islamic calendar (Hijra) in 1976. At the same time financial assets of Muslims mostly those of the oil producing countries, expected a boost due to validation of the oil prices, which had up till now been under the power of foreign oil Corporations. These proceedings led Muslims to struggle to model their lives in agreement with the principles and philosophy of Islam (Abbas Valadkhani, 2004). Islam not only prohibits trade in interest but also in liquor, pork, gambling, pornography and anything else, which the Shariah (Islamic Law) deems Haram (unlawful). Islamic banking is an tool for the progress of an Islamic financial order. Some of the salient features of this order may be summed up as: Islam urges individuals to seek their economic well-being. Islam presents a clear difference between what is Halal (lawful) and what is haram (forbidden) in pursuit of such economic activity. In broad terms, Islam forbids all forms of economic activity, which are morally or socially injurious. This God rule can be considered as a way to systemize the citizens. Islam makes it obligatory on people to spend their wealth judiciously and not to hoard it, keep it idle or to squander it while acknowledging them their right to ownership of wealth legitimately acquired. This can be compared with the communism principles that look for the welfare of the whole members of the society. While allowing an individual to retain any extra capital, Islam look for reducing the edge of the extra for the well-being of the society as a whole, especially the poor and underprivileged sections of society by contribution in the procedure of Zakat. It is the way the Islamic government intervenes to ensure that poor people can have a formal financial source. While making payment for the ways of human nature and yet not yielding to the penalty of its worst propensities, Islam seeks to stop the amassing of wealth in a few hands to the damage of society as a whole, by its laws of inheritance. Viewed as a total, the financial system, which visualized by Islam aims at social justice without inhibiting people project beyond the point where it becomes not only jointly harmful but also individually self-destructive. The Islamic economic system employs the perception of contribution in the enterprise, utilizing the funds at threat on a profit-and- loss-distribution basis. This by no means implies that investments with economic institutions are necessarily tentative. This can be barred by careful investment strategy, diversification of risk and sensible management by Islamic economic institutions. This system supports people to invest their money in those financial institutions to exploit their utilities by making profits under the guidelines of the Shariah. The concept of profit-and-loss sharing, as a basis of financial transactions is a progressive one as it distinguishes good performance from the bad and minimize the players in the market to be the people who know how to invest and when they inter the market to catch the goal. The main goals of an Islamic Banking and Financial system are to: Implement the value system of the Quran and the Sunnah (tradition or practice of Prophet MuhammadSAW) in the realm of the Muslim socio-economic system. Ibn Taymiyahr.a. (n.d.), a distinguished scholar of Islam, explicates this as follows: â€Å"In muamalat (business transactions) all activities are permissible unless forbidden by revelation (Quran) or the practice of Prophet Muhammad SAW†. The examples of prohibited business activities would include dealing in gambling, liquor, pork etc. The financial contracts of Islamic banks need to be clearly documented, equitable and avoid the elements of Riba, Gharar and Maysir as explained in the following section. Foster the growth of the economy of Muslim nations by developing financial markets, institutions and instruments. A well-developed capital market, with efficient institutions offering diverse financial facilities, can reduce the overall cost of capital. It can enhance social welfare by facilitating the acceptance of projects whose; present value of all relevant cash in-flows (benefits) after tax is greater than the present value of all cash out-flows (cost) of the project; or the expected internal rate of return is greater than a minimum threshold rate (or cost of capital). Furthermore, these necessary conditions should also be satisfied for each party financing the project to alleviate agency effects. This entails economic development, which is promoted in Islam, as Prophet Muhammad SAW exhorted Muslims to undertake business ventures (tijarah) as described in the following hadith Nuaym ibn Abd Al-Rahman has quoted the (narration). ProphetSAW as saying: â€Å"Nine tenths of earnings (Rizq) is in bai (business ventures), and tenth in cattle†. This was reported by Ibrahim Al-Harbi (Al-Iraqi, 1992) and by Said ibn Mansur (Al-Suyuti, 1990). Dampen the shocks of extreme economic output by promoting risk-sharing instruments whose payoffs are strictly contingent on the profitability of a firm or project at a micro level. Financial facilities with fixed costs can severely strain the resources of borrowers during a slowdown, which lead to bankruptcies and structural impairment of the economy. The gist of Islamic financial securitization is summarized by the following well-known hadith quoted by Kahf and Khan (1992), â€Å"Al-kharaj bi al daman.† This implies that entitlement of return from assets vests in the one bearing the risk of it. 2.1 CONVENTIONAL BANKING The main job for most of non-Muslim or conventional banks is preserved money and valuables and give loans, credit, and imbursement services, for example checking accounts, money orders, and cashiers checks. These banks furthermore may propose investment and insurance products, which they were once banned from selling. As a diversity of models for collaboration and integration amongst finance industries have appeared, some of the conventional distinctions among banks, insurance companies, and securities firms have reduced. Regardless of these changes, banks continue to preserve and carry out their main role—allowing deposits and lending funds from these deposits. There are several kinds of banks, which vary in the number of services they offer and the customers they serve. Although some of the distinctions among these kinds of banks have tapering as they begin to enlarge the vary of products and services they propose, there are still key distinctive behaviors. Commercial banks, which control this industry, provide a full variety of services for customers, enterprise, and governments. These banks come in a broad range of sizes, from large international banks to local and community banks. International banks are involved in global lending and foreign cash trading, additionally to the more typical banking services. However, a lot of commercial banks have also extended to present online banking, and some previously Internet-only banks are opting to release branches. Savings banks and savings and loan associations, occasionally called thrift institutions, are the second biggest group of depository institutions. They were first recognized as community-based firms to finance mortgages for people to purchase homes and still cater mostly to the savings and lending requirements of individuals. Credit unions are another type of depository institution. Most credit unions are created by people with a familiar bond, for instance those who work for the similar company or be a member of the same labor union or church. Members pond their savings and, when they require money, they may borrow from the credit union, frequently at a minor interest rate than that demanded by other financial institutions. Federal preserve banks are Government agencies that achieve numerous financial services for the Government. Their chief tasks are to control the banking industry and to aid implement our Nations financial policy so our economy can run more proficiently by directing the Nations money provide—the total amount of money in the country, including cash and bank deposits. Interest on loans is the main source of income for most banks, making their diverse lending departments critical to their achievement. The commercial lending department loans money to companies to start or enlarge a business or to buy inventory and capital tools. The customer lending department handles student loans, credit cards, and loans for home developments, debt consolidation, and automobile purchases. Finally, the mortgage lending department loans money to individuals and businesses to buy real estate. The money to loan comes mainly from deposits in checking and reserving accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and other deposit accounts that clients and businesses arrangement with the bank. These deposits often make interest for the owner, and accounts that offer checking supply an easy technique for creation payments safely without using cash. Technology is having a main impact on the banking industry. such as, many usual bank services that once needed a teller, for example making a withdrawal or deposit, are now existing through ATMs that let people to right of entry their accounts 24 hours a day. In addition, direct deposit permits companies and governments to electronically transfer payments into different accounts. Also, debit cards, which may also apply as ATM cards, immediately deduct money from an account when the card is swiped across a machine at a stores cash register. Electronic banking by phone or computer permits consumers to pay invoices and shift money from one account to another. Through these channels, bank customers can too admission information such as account balances and statement history. Some banks have started offering online account aggregation, which makes accessible in one place detailed and up-to date information on a clients accounts held at diverse institutions. Progressions in technology have also led to upgrading in the ways in which banks process information. Use of check imaging, which lets banks to store photographed checks on the computer, is one such example that has been applied by some banks. Other kinds of technology have deeply impacted the lending side of banking. such as, the availability and increasing use of credit scoring software lets loans to be accepted in minutes, rather than days, making lending departments more competent. Other basic changes are taking place in the industry as banks vary their services to become more competitive. A lot of banks at the present offer their clients financial planning and asset management services, as well as brokerage and insurance services, frequently throughout a subsidiary or third party. Others are starting to offer investment banking services that assist companies and governments increase money during the issuance of stocks and bonds, also usually during a subsidiary. As banks reply to deregulation and as competition in this sector raises, the nature of the banking industry will continue to undertake considerable change. 2.2 COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ISLAMIC BANKING INDUSTRY The crucial feature of Islamic banking is that it is interest-free. Although it is frequently claimed that there is more to Islamic banking, for example contributions towards a more fair distribution of income and wealth, and improved equity contribution in the economy (Chapra l982), it nevertheless obtains its specific rationale from the fact that there is no place for the institution of interest in the Islamic order. Islam forbids Muslims from taking or giving interest (riba) in spite of of the reason for which such loans are made and despite of the rates at which interest is exciting. To be certain, there have been efforts to differentiate between usury and interest and between loans for consumption and for production. It has also been argued that riba refers to usury accomplished by minor money-lenders and not to interest charged by contemporary banks and that no riba is occupied when interest is compulsory on productive loans, but these arguments have not won approval. Apart from a few disagreeing opinions, he general agreement among Muslim scholars obviously is that there is no variation between riba and interest. In what follows, these two terms are used interchangeably. The forbidden of riba is mentioned in four different revelations in the Quran. The first revelation highlights that interest removes wealth of Gods blessings. The second revelation condemns it, placing interest in combination with illegal appropriation of property belonging to others. The third revelation enjoins Muslims to keep on clear of interest for the sake of their own welfare. The fourth revelation set up a clear difference between interest and trade, influencing Muslims to take only the principal sum and to forgo even this sum if the borrower is not capable to repay. It is further declared in the Quran that those who ignored the forbidden of interest are at war with God and His Prophet. The forbidden of interest is furthermore cited in no unsure terms in the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet). The Prophet warned not only those who take interest but also those who offer interest and those who record or witness the operation, saying that they are all similar in guilt. It may be mentioned in passing that similar prohibition are to be found in the pre-Quranic scriptures, although the People of the Book, as the Quran refers to them, had chosen to rationalize them. It is remarkable that Islam has successfully warded off various subsequent rationalization efforts aimed at legitimizing the institution of interest. Some scholars relays on economic reasons to explain the reasons on why interest is prohibited in Islam. scholars argued that interest is a pre- determined cost of production, which avoid full employment (Khan l968; Ahmad n.d.; Mannan l970). In the same tone, it has been challenged that international monetary crises are largely due to the institution of interest (Khan, n.d), and that trade cycles are in no small measure attributable to the phenomenon of interest (Ahmad l952; Suud n.d.). None of these studies, however, has really succeeded in creating a causal link between interest, on the one hand, and employment and trade cycles, on the other. Others, anxious to maintain the Islamic position on interest, have argued that interest is not very effective as a monetary policy instrument even in capitalist economies and have questioned the efficiency of the rate of interest as a determinant of saving and investment (Ariff l982). A general line running through all these negotiations is the exploitative character of the institution of interest, although some have pointed out that profit (which is legalized in Islam) can also be exploitative. One response to this is that one must differentiate between profit and profiteering, and Islam has prohibited the latter as well. It began as a theological dream, but Islamic banking has become a practical reality across the Middle East. The question now is, how far will Sharia boards and western regulators let it spread? (Josh Martin, Middle East, Jun2005 Issue 357, p50, 6p) The Islamic prohibition on interest does not imply that capital is costless in an Islamic system. Islam realizes that money is a factor of production however; it does not permit the factor to pre-determined claim on the productive surplus in the form of interest. This has leaded to the question as to what will then substitute the interest rate mechanism in an Islamic framework. There have been propositions that profit sharing can be a viable alternative (Ka Customer Awareness Toward Islamic Accounting Theory Customer Awareness Toward Islamic Accounting Theory CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Islamic banks considered as an active player in the world economies over two decades ago (Ahmed S., 2009). The principles accounting upon which Islamic banking is based have been universally accepted for centuries rather than decades. The fundamental principle of Islamic financial institutions is the prohibition of Riba (interest). It is manifest that Islamic accounting theory were practiced mainly in the Islamic country throughout the middle ages, development trade and business activities. In order to understand what services that Islamic banks offer, it is essential to maintain an acceptable level of information of the basis behind it. It has been argued that the Islamic banks have not introduced any new services since their first existence in the 1970s, in fact they have tried to comply with the rules of the Islamic religion specified for these types of actions. High requests to assess Muslim customers perception and attitude toward Islamic bank services. Islamic banks understand that its paramount important to measure the degree of its customers awareness as well as to improve services. The financial institution follows the rules that Holy Quran and hadith have set to guide the Muslims in their financial matters. The Islamic financial system employs the idea of participation in the project, utilizing the funds at threat on a profit-and- loss-distribution basis (Ahmed, S., 2009). 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM During the last three decades, Islamic finance institutions have been rising significantly, both nationally and internationally (Ahmed, S., 2009; Iqbal Abbas, 2007). These firms were recognized in the emerging market of the Middle East to meet the order of investors and borrowers who are motivated by income maximization derived from the Islamic law (Sharia). Islamic finance institutions offer an extensive range of Islamic financial innovations from the simple agreement of profit-sharing agreement (Mudaraba) that is parallel to time deposit in conservative banks, to issue Islamic bonds (Sukuk) and derivatives. In gulf countries, the state of Kuwait banking industry considered on of the leaders in Islamic financial market. The growth of Islamic finance institutions in Kuwait has attracted some of the conventional financial firms (e.g., NBK IFIH, and Citibank) to add the service of Islamic windows to their clients. In spite of the advantages that are fixed in Islamic finance system and management, Islamic finance institutions encounter numerous primary challenges to the prospect of being recognized internationally. The challenges exist in local as well as global markets. On of these challenges is to assess the degree of awareness in Islamic accounting theories. In their study, Gerrard and Cunningham (1997) reported that Muslim respondents, though aware of basic conditions in Islam, were almost wholly ignorant of the sense of specific Islamic financial conditions like Mudaraba, Musharaka and Ijara. As result, many Islamic financial providers seek to assess the level of social awareness of their tools that incorporate with Sharia. The understanding of customer degree of awareness are paramount important to determine firms endowment to promote Islamic accounting theories. Bankers also seek to explore the reasons behind dealing with Islamic banks to better understand and improve services provided. Another challenge that faces Islamic financial institutions is that, as service provided they have to understand customers perceptions and attitude toward the services provided to better understand customers need, want, and improve their services. With no understanding to customer perceptions and attitude Islamic banks may have no means to better develop their services and improve customer satisfaction and compete in the local as well as the international market. The current study seeks to assess the level of customers awareness of Islamic accounting theories and to explore their perceptions and attitude toward these tools that incorporate with Sharia. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Islamic financing is an important area of contemporary academic and policy interest. Opposing views in the area are analyzed in the light of empirical evidence. Measuring the degree of customer awareness toward Islamic accounting theory and their perception and attitude toward Islamic tools will shape the future of Islamic financing. The current study attempts to reveals the degree of customers awareness toward Islamic and efforts bestows to improve their awareness in order to assist Islamic financial institution to determine the efforts needed to raise this awareness and improve their attitude and perceptions. Another objective of this study is to explore customers perceptive and perception toward Islamic transactions thus Islamic financial institutions can better understand their customers and improve services provided. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Islamic banks provide many financial services and are competing heavily in the Middle East with conventional banks. Customers nowadays go for Islamic bank loans for buying home, cars and even business setup, as the conditions are very clear and there are no rising interest piling up. To overcome the fierce competition, Islamic bank need to bestow efforts in rising the degree of awareness toward Islamic accounting and finical tools and improve customers perception and attitude. The study is of general theoretical importance as well as of particular practical significance for policy makers who intend to conform their existing financial systems to Islamic rules. Furthermore, at the practical level, the study aims to assist Islamic bank manager in providing empirically evidence how of Kuwaiti customers aware toward Islamic accounting theory and Islamic financial services. The study also provide framework for bank managers in measuring customers perception and attitude toward Islamic services and their usage of various products and services offered. At the theoretical level, the current study aims to develop the literature of Islamic accounting theory and explain how these theories are to be implemented in the Islamic financial institution who adapts Sharia. 1.5 THE SETTING OF THE STUDY In the Gulf Co-operation Council there are growing number of Islamic banks are also taking steps towards greater clearness and stronger authority structures. The state of Kuwait for example, has been taking a number of steps to reinforce its local Sharia-obedient institutions, including slowly moving in the direction of a latest regulatory framework for sukuk. In conversations with OBG, manufacturing insiders explained that due to a lack of suitable legal mechanisms, Islamic finance companies are not allowed to issue sukuk in Kuwait, which forces Kuwaiti companies to work through other markets, such as Bahrain. Given the massive increase in sukuk issuance worldwide, pegged at nearly $17 billion (in the Gulf alone, the growth rate since 2001 has been nearly 45%), Kuwaits financiers are keenly aware of the need for proper rules regulating sukuk. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabah, the governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), said earlier of 2008 that regulations are wanted, saying that the CBK is keen to provide a legal system to regulate Islamic investment tools such as the issuance of sukuk, especially in light of growing demand. We are optimistic a solution will soon be found. In state of Kuwait, the Islamic financial sector and its sharia-compliant companies are the increasingly global. Kuwait Finance house Bank (KFH), as an example, in addition to its Turkey, Malaysia and Bahrain ventures, newly established a subsidiary with a pair of Chinese firms to discover real estate investments in the Chongqing region of a middle China. In a more high-profile move, Investment Dar, one of Kuwaits biggest Islamic investment companies, recently funded a takeover of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin to the tune of $925 million. To achieve the purpose of the current study, the study focuses on a specific Islamic bank that located in the state of Kuwait. KFH has usually been one of the main engines behind the growth of Kuwaits sharia-acquiescent financial market; however, its enlargement and development indicates a growing maturity in Kuwaits sharia-compliant services zone, established by the push toward the regulation of Islamic bonds (sukuk) and the emergence of ever-stronger Islamic investment firms. KFH was the first Islamic bank in Kuwait and one of the pioneers toward adapting of Islamic accounting and financial theory in the gulf region. Beside the convenience, the research believe that exploring the degree of Islamic accounting theories of this bank may reveals highly reliable evidence of generalizing the finding in the state of Kuwait. KFH considered the main Islamic bank in Kuwait and the second-main bank of any kind in the country. Also to the huge injection of capital, KFH lately unveiled plans to set up its own subsidiary in Amman. The expansion of Islamic banks operations at home and overseas underlines the growing development of Kuwaits Islamic financial sector. Thus the study believe that investigating the customers awareness of Islamic banks toward Islamic accounting theory are justified and understanding their perception and attitude toward KFH is paramount important in attempting to improve service quality of Islamic firms. 1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This study is concerns with Islamic banking that located in the state of Kuwait as its difficult to include all Islamic banks related to resource limitation and time restriction. The study also does not analyze all Islamic accounting theory as it is very vast subject to control, rather than focusing on basic Islamic accounting theory that adopted by Islamic financial institutions and banks. Other limitation could be found related to: Sample size: The sample size for the bank customer is very large. Therefore, the collection of customer feedback will be costly in term of time and money. The study aims to attain around (150) survey for the purpose of analysis, which may considered one of the study limitation. Data collection: It may be difficult to distribute and collect all data and forms since the study is targeting to collect feedback from the entire bank customers. 1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS The current study includes many Islamic terms and concepts that will be stated as in Arabic meaning, some of these concepts are: Halal: The actions or items that Muslims can have access to. Haram: The actions or items that Muslims are banned from Riba: What is known in the west as the interest. Maysir: It means Games of chance such as lottery, gambling and it is usually referred to as Haram. Takaful: It is a form of insurance in the Islamic religion which will be explained in the essay. Gharar: Deception, hazard, speculation, uncertainty, risk (literally, peril or hazard) Mudaraba: Is a trustee financing contract, where one party, the financier, entrusts funds to the other party, the entrepreneur, for undertaking an activity Mushakara: It is an equity participation contract, whereby two or more partners contribute with funds to carry out an investment Muqarada: Loan Participation Qard Hassan: It is a benevolent loan (interest free) Sharia: It is Islamic religious law derived from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah 1.8 THESIS STRUCTURE The current study includes five chapters: chapter one described the background of this study, and consisted of the introduction, objectives and significance of the research. Chapter two reviewed the literatures on Islamic banking and theories. Chapter three explained the research methodology. The data analysis techniques and research findings were demonstrated and discussions in chapter four. Finally, chapter five exhibited conclusions and future recommendation. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Its necessary to explore the literature of Islamic accounting theory in details in this chapter. This chapter attempts to review previous literatures on the topic of Islamic Accounting Theory and provides recent finding related to the degree of awareness of customers toward Islamic financial services. This chapter attempts provide recent study and articles about Islamic accounting theory that explain the nature of Islamic banks system. Previous literatures and studies have revealed that the first recent research in Islamic banking filed was conducted in Egypt under cover, without projecting an Islamic picture, for fear of being seen as a demonstration of Islamic fundamentalism, which was abhorrence to the political government (Siddiqi l988). These studies remain until l967 where nine Islamic banks open in the country (Ready l98l). These banks was neither charging nor paying interest, investing mainly by participating in trade and industry, directly or in partnership with others, and shared the profits with their depositors (Siddiqi l988). For that reason, Islamic banks functioned basically as saving-investment firms rather than as commercial banks that based on charging interests. The Nasir Social Bank, established in Egypt in l97l, was declared an interest-free commercial bank, although its charter did not refer to Islam or Shariah (Islamic law). Islamic banks appeared on the earth scene as dynamic players over the past two decades. Nevertheless, a lot of the values that based on Islamic banking usually accepted all over the world, for centuries more willingly than decades. The essential principle of Islamic banking is the ban of Riba (interest), while the essential occupant of Islamic banking the prohibition of riba, a word that encompasses not only the perception of usury, but also that of interest has rarely been recognized as appropriate beyond the Islamic world, a lot of its guiding values have. The majority of these values are rooted in simple ethics and general sense, which form the bases of numerous religions, including Islam. Interest or â€Å"Usury† was forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, whereas Shakespeare and many other writers, mainly those writing in the 19th century, have attacked the barbarity of the carry out. Much of the ethics championed by Victorian writers such as Dickens ranging from the fair division of wealth through to mans elementary right to work is obviously present in contemporary Islamic society. Although the western media oftenrecommend that Islamic banking in its current form is a recent occurrence, in fact, the essential practices and principles date back to the early part of the seventh century. (Islamic Finance: A Euromoney Publication, 1997) It is obvious that Islamic finance was accomplished predominantly in the Muslim world during the Middle Ages, encouragement trade and business behavior. In Spain and the Mediterranean and Baltic States, Islamic trades became vital middlemen for trading actions. It is claimed that several concepts, techniques, and tools of Islamic finance were later adopted by European financiers and businessmen. As Islamic finance is intertwined within its religion, the basis of the religion affects the finance in two important ways: Islam aims at building a socio-economic order based on justice and considers economic activity as a means to an end and not an end in itself. It enjoins Muslims to harness natural resources, which are a trust from Allah SWT, for carrying out rightful activities; but abhors exploitation and man-made inequalities of income and wealth (Al-Harran, 1993). Islam is extremely concerned with the problem of financial growth, but treats this as an significant part of a wider problem, that of total human progress. The crucial function of Islam is to lead human growth on right lines and in the right direction. Islamic principle deals with all sides of economic development in the framework of total human development (Al-Harran, 1993). The reinforcement of Islamic banking coincided with the world-wide festivity of the advent of the 15th Century of Islamic calendar (Hijra) in 1976. At the same time financial assets of Muslims mostly those of the oil producing countries, expected a boost due to validation of the oil prices, which had up till now been under the power of foreign oil Corporations. These proceedings led Muslims to struggle to model their lives in agreement with the principles and philosophy of Islam (Abbas Valadkhani, 2004). Islam not only prohibits trade in interest but also in liquor, pork, gambling, pornography and anything else, which the Shariah (Islamic Law) deems Haram (unlawful). Islamic banking is an tool for the progress of an Islamic financial order. Some of the salient features of this order may be summed up as: Islam urges individuals to seek their economic well-being. Islam presents a clear difference between what is Halal (lawful) and what is haram (forbidden) in pursuit of such economic activity. In broad terms, Islam forbids all forms of economic activity, which are morally or socially injurious. This God rule can be considered as a way to systemize the citizens. Islam makes it obligatory on people to spend their wealth judiciously and not to hoard it, keep it idle or to squander it while acknowledging them their right to ownership of wealth legitimately acquired. This can be compared with the communism principles that look for the welfare of the whole members of the society. While allowing an individual to retain any extra capital, Islam look for reducing the edge of the extra for the well-being of the society as a whole, especially the poor and underprivileged sections of society by contribution in the procedure of Zakat. It is the way the Islamic government intervenes to ensure that poor people can have a formal financial source. While making payment for the ways of human nature and yet not yielding to the penalty of its worst propensities, Islam seeks to stop the amassing of wealth in a few hands to the damage of society as a whole, by its laws of inheritance. Viewed as a total, the financial system, which visualized by Islam aims at social justice without inhibiting people project beyond the point where it becomes not only jointly harmful but also individually self-destructive. The Islamic economic system employs the perception of contribution in the enterprise, utilizing the funds at threat on a profit-and- loss-distribution basis. This by no means implies that investments with economic institutions are necessarily tentative. This can be barred by careful investment strategy, diversification of risk and sensible management by Islamic economic institutions. This system supports people to invest their money in those financial institutions to exploit their utilities by making profits under the guidelines of the Shariah. The concept of profit-and-loss sharing, as a basis of financial transactions is a progressive one as it distinguishes good performance from the bad and minimize the players in the market to be the people who know how to invest and when they inter the market to catch the goal. The main goals of an Islamic Banking and Financial system are to: Implement the value system of the Quran and the Sunnah (tradition or practice of Prophet MuhammadSAW) in the realm of the Muslim socio-economic system. Ibn Taymiyahr.a. (n.d.), a distinguished scholar of Islam, explicates this as follows: â€Å"In muamalat (business transactions) all activities are permissible unless forbidden by revelation (Quran) or the practice of Prophet Muhammad SAW†. The examples of prohibited business activities would include dealing in gambling, liquor, pork etc. The financial contracts of Islamic banks need to be clearly documented, equitable and avoid the elements of Riba, Gharar and Maysir as explained in the following section. Foster the growth of the economy of Muslim nations by developing financial markets, institutions and instruments. A well-developed capital market, with efficient institutions offering diverse financial facilities, can reduce the overall cost of capital. It can enhance social welfare by facilitating the acceptance of projects whose; present value of all relevant cash in-flows (benefits) after tax is greater than the present value of all cash out-flows (cost) of the project; or the expected internal rate of return is greater than a minimum threshold rate (or cost of capital). Furthermore, these necessary conditions should also be satisfied for each party financing the project to alleviate agency effects. This entails economic development, which is promoted in Islam, as Prophet Muhammad SAW exhorted Muslims to undertake business ventures (tijarah) as described in the following hadith Nuaym ibn Abd Al-Rahman has quoted the (narration). ProphetSAW as saying: â€Å"Nine tenths of earnings (Rizq) is in bai (business ventures), and tenth in cattle†. This was reported by Ibrahim Al-Harbi (Al-Iraqi, 1992) and by Said ibn Mansur (Al-Suyuti, 1990). Dampen the shocks of extreme economic output by promoting risk-sharing instruments whose payoffs are strictly contingent on the profitability of a firm or project at a micro level. Financial facilities with fixed costs can severely strain the resources of borrowers during a slowdown, which lead to bankruptcies and structural impairment of the economy. The gist of Islamic financial securitization is summarized by the following well-known hadith quoted by Kahf and Khan (1992), â€Å"Al-kharaj bi al daman.† This implies that entitlement of return from assets vests in the one bearing the risk of it. 2.1 CONVENTIONAL BANKING The main job for most of non-Muslim or conventional banks is preserved money and valuables and give loans, credit, and imbursement services, for example checking accounts, money orders, and cashiers checks. These banks furthermore may propose investment and insurance products, which they were once banned from selling. As a diversity of models for collaboration and integration amongst finance industries have appeared, some of the conventional distinctions among banks, insurance companies, and securities firms have reduced. Regardless of these changes, banks continue to preserve and carry out their main role—allowing deposits and lending funds from these deposits. There are several kinds of banks, which vary in the number of services they offer and the customers they serve. Although some of the distinctions among these kinds of banks have tapering as they begin to enlarge the vary of products and services they propose, there are still key distinctive behaviors. Commercial banks, which control this industry, provide a full variety of services for customers, enterprise, and governments. These banks come in a broad range of sizes, from large international banks to local and community banks. International banks are involved in global lending and foreign cash trading, additionally to the more typical banking services. However, a lot of commercial banks have also extended to present online banking, and some previously Internet-only banks are opting to release branches. Savings banks and savings and loan associations, occasionally called thrift institutions, are the second biggest group of depository institutions. They were first recognized as community-based firms to finance mortgages for people to purchase homes and still cater mostly to the savings and lending requirements of individuals. Credit unions are another type of depository institution. Most credit unions are created by people with a familiar bond, for instance those who work for the similar company or be a member of the same labor union or church. Members pond their savings and, when they require money, they may borrow from the credit union, frequently at a minor interest rate than that demanded by other financial institutions. Federal preserve banks are Government agencies that achieve numerous financial services for the Government. Their chief tasks are to control the banking industry and to aid implement our Nations financial policy so our economy can run more proficiently by directing the Nations money provide—the total amount of money in the country, including cash and bank deposits. Interest on loans is the main source of income for most banks, making their diverse lending departments critical to their achievement. The commercial lending department loans money to companies to start or enlarge a business or to buy inventory and capital tools. The customer lending department handles student loans, credit cards, and loans for home developments, debt consolidation, and automobile purchases. Finally, the mortgage lending department loans money to individuals and businesses to buy real estate. The money to loan comes mainly from deposits in checking and reserving accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and other deposit accounts that clients and businesses arrangement with the bank. These deposits often make interest for the owner, and accounts that offer checking supply an easy technique for creation payments safely without using cash. Technology is having a main impact on the banking industry. such as, many usual bank services that once needed a teller, for example making a withdrawal or deposit, are now existing through ATMs that let people to right of entry their accounts 24 hours a day. In addition, direct deposit permits companies and governments to electronically transfer payments into different accounts. Also, debit cards, which may also apply as ATM cards, immediately deduct money from an account when the card is swiped across a machine at a stores cash register. Electronic banking by phone or computer permits consumers to pay invoices and shift money from one account to another. Through these channels, bank customers can too admission information such as account balances and statement history. Some banks have started offering online account aggregation, which makes accessible in one place detailed and up-to date information on a clients accounts held at diverse institutions. Progressions in technology have also led to upgrading in the ways in which banks process information. Use of check imaging, which lets banks to store photographed checks on the computer, is one such example that has been applied by some banks. Other kinds of technology have deeply impacted the lending side of banking. such as, the availability and increasing use of credit scoring software lets loans to be accepted in minutes, rather than days, making lending departments more competent. Other basic changes are taking place in the industry as banks vary their services to become more competitive. A lot of banks at the present offer their clients financial planning and asset management services, as well as brokerage and insurance services, frequently throughout a subsidiary or third party. Others are starting to offer investment banking services that assist companies and governments increase money during the issuance of stocks and bonds, also usually during a subsidiary. As banks reply to deregulation and as competition in this sector raises, the nature of the banking industry will continue to undertake considerable change. 2.2 COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ISLAMIC BANKING INDUSTRY The crucial feature of Islamic banking is that it is interest-free. Although it is frequently claimed that there is more to Islamic banking, for example contributions towards a more fair distribution of income and wealth, and improved equity contribution in the economy (Chapra l982), it nevertheless obtains its specific rationale from the fact that there is no place for the institution of interest in the Islamic order. Islam forbids Muslims from taking or giving interest (riba) in spite of of the reason for which such loans are made and despite of the rates at which interest is exciting. To be certain, there have been efforts to differentiate between usury and interest and between loans for consumption and for production. It has also been argued that riba refers to usury accomplished by minor money-lenders and not to interest charged by contemporary banks and that no riba is occupied when interest is compulsory on productive loans, but these arguments have not won approval. Apart from a few disagreeing opinions, he general agreement among Muslim scholars obviously is that there is no variation between riba and interest. In what follows, these two terms are used interchangeably. The forbidden of riba is mentioned in four different revelations in the Quran. The first revelation highlights that interest removes wealth of Gods blessings. The second revelation condemns it, placing interest in combination with illegal appropriation of property belonging to others. The third revelation enjoins Muslims to keep on clear of interest for the sake of their own welfare. The fourth revelation set up a clear difference between interest and trade, influencing Muslims to take only the principal sum and to forgo even this sum if the borrower is not capable to repay. It is further declared in the Quran that those who ignored the forbidden of interest are at war with God and His Prophet. The forbidden of interest is furthermore cited in no unsure terms in the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet). The Prophet warned not only those who take interest but also those who offer interest and those who record or witness the operation, saying that they are all similar in guilt. It may be mentioned in passing that similar prohibition are to be found in the pre-Quranic scriptures, although the People of the Book, as the Quran refers to them, had chosen to rationalize them. It is remarkable that Islam has successfully warded off various subsequent rationalization efforts aimed at legitimizing the institution of interest. Some scholars relays on economic reasons to explain the reasons on why interest is prohibited in Islam. scholars argued that interest is a pre- determined cost of production, which avoid full employment (Khan l968; Ahmad n.d.; Mannan l970). In the same tone, it has been challenged that international monetary crises are largely due to the institution of interest (Khan, n.d), and that trade cycles are in no small measure attributable to the phenomenon of interest (Ahmad l952; Suud n.d.). None of these studies, however, has really succeeded in creating a causal link between interest, on the one hand, and employment and trade cycles, on the other. Others, anxious to maintain the Islamic position on interest, have argued that interest is not very effective as a monetary policy instrument even in capitalist economies and have questioned the efficiency of the rate of interest as a determinant of saving and investment (Ariff l982). A general line running through all these negotiations is the exploitative character of the institution of interest, although some have pointed out that profit (which is legalized in Islam) can also be exploitative. One response to this is that one must differentiate between profit and profiteering, and Islam has prohibited the latter as well. It began as a theological dream, but Islamic banking has become a practical reality across the Middle East. The question now is, how far will Sharia boards and western regulators let it spread? (Josh Martin, Middle East, Jun2005 Issue 357, p50, 6p) The Islamic prohibition on interest does not imply that capital is costless in an Islamic system. Islam realizes that money is a factor of production however; it does not permit the factor to pre-determined claim on the productive surplus in the form of interest. This has leaded to the question as to what will then substitute the interest rate mechanism in an Islamic framework. There have been propositions that profit sharing can be a viable alternative (Ka